Pinterest Recipes Success

I've tried a few recipes lately that I thought I'd share because they turned out really well!

First, as a bribe and thank you to my husband for building a bookcase and couch for me last weekend, I made him these Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes I found. Now, I'm not a huge cheesecake fan but I love me some Oreos. Rick picked this one for me to make and it was kind of an annoying recipe only because it made a TON of batter and I didn't end up using it all. If I were to make it again, I'd cut the recipe in half. Mine also took longer than 22 minutes to fully set in the oven.

picture and recipe courtesy of girlwhoateeverything.com

Ingredients:
42 Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds (32 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch of salt

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 275°. Line standard muffin pans with liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each liner.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed using an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving. Best served really cold! You can garnish with fresh whipped cream and crumbled Oreos if desired. 

Rick and I also enjoyed a really yummy summer salad that I found on Pinterest. It's title was Power Salad and it did not dissapoint. Super easy, great ingredients and the dressing was light and simple. I was also able to use roasted corn that we had leftover from the grill the previous night which I think added a kick of flavor! While it isn't a low fat recipe due to the avocado, cheese and pine nuts, you could always swap out those ingredients to make it lower fat. Great recipe. 

picture and recipe courtesy of recipegirl.com

SALAD:
8 cups chopped spinach (1 bag)
1 cup halved cherry or pear tomatoes
1/2 cup corn (frozen, canned, or cut off the cob)
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 large avocado, sliced
1/3 cup crumbled goat or feta cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
DRESSING:
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Place spinach in a large salad bowl. add remaining salad ingredients.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour over the salad and toss (a little at a time... as much dressing as you desire).


Tonight we're dining out with friends, but I'm hoping to muster the strength to try a few new recipes this weekend!

Sister Love

Sister love is a unique kind of love. It's the kind that reaches thousands of miles and wraps its arms around your sister friend to lift her up. It's the kind that sends a twinge to your heart when you have a feeling something's not right, and the kind of love that magically makes it all better. Sister love has no limits; it's strong. Despite how many clothes of yours get stolen or how many secrets of yours get spilled, sister love always creeps back in to your heart.

Today, sister love is spreading like wildfire.

All Boy

I've read a lot about babies and children. I learned a lot about gender roles through my psychology courses in college and how boys and girls learn differently when I was in grad school. I pride myself on knowing a lot about children and education, and have always believed that a lot of the gender differences we see between boys and girls was environmental. Until I had my own.

This kid is all boy. And I swear there is nothing we have done (that I can think of) to steer him in this direction. He has "girly" toys and his nursery basically looks like it should be for a princess. But this kid is boy. He is all over the place active, jumps and rolls and screams at the top of his lungs. He can also eat me under the table (and Momma here knows how to eat!) He's discovered his special parts down below and plays with them any chance he gets. Like ALL the time. I certainly think it's too early to tell what his hobbies or interest will be, but it's clear he's a physical kid with a mind like a boy.

He's already loving basketball.. and Michigan. Go Blue! (We have had NO influence over this... ha!)

Kid loves him some wheels. He loves to make them spin and watch them go round and round fast.

 

And, just like his daddy he likes to drive fast.

He also loves showing off his guns. He's just a typical dude.

And then there are his sweet baby moments that I know he'll grow out of soon once he realizes he truly is all boy. Like snuggling in my nook while we read together and giggling uncontrollably while I kiss him all over. And the cuddles. This kid loves his cuddles, and I'm inclined to say he's already a Mama's Boy.

Finally, thought I'd share his latest trick. Cam can officially clap on command. First, I was so proud that he was finally clapping with both hands open. Then I was so proud that he understood what the word clap means. I think he knows what a lot of words mean (bottle, bath, night-night) but this is the first word that he has shown he understands by performing a task. Such a proud mommy moment.

(I'm posting this video in YouTube and uploading it on here because I was told by many that they weren't able to see the video I posted last time. Let me know if you have trouble viewing this one too. Oh, and pardon my high pitched voice... I got excited.)

Organization Challenge

I generally consider myself a clean and tidy person. My floors are always swept, my counters typically cleared. But, I'm starting to suffocate with clutter. I spent Friday's nap time organizing bathroom drawers, scrubbing grout with a toothbrush, and wiping down baseboards and I still felt like I hadn't accomplished much. After a family trip to IKEA yesterday and a re-haul of our family room, I'm feeling overwhelmed with clutter and an itch to Spring Fall Clean.

I try to de-clutter regularly, so you'd think I have a handle on it all, but somehow the papers and toys and clothes and junk just keeps piling up. (It could have something to do with the exorbitant amount of time I spend on Amazon, but that's for a different post!)

It's too overwhelming to tackle it all at once, but I saw this on Pinterest and loved what I read. It's basically a 4 week program to an organized home. I loved the daily projects and the checklist just seems so un-overwhelming. So, I'm starting tomorrow. Day 1 of my four weeks to a more organized home... stay tuned for updates on how it's going! I'm excited... are you!?!?

picture courtesy of moneysavingmom.com

Surviving Reflux

We have finally come out on the other side of GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease). Though it took a long nine months to finally say this, I feel like screaming from the top of the Willis Tower: Cam is officially off all meds, all special formula and is sleeping beautifully, laughing constantly and not spitting up any more!!

The medicine thing was actually a fluke... I actually forgot to give him his dose one day last week, and noticed he was fine. So, I took a leap of faith and haven't administered his Prevacid in a week and he's been sleeping better than ever, eating well and not puking. I couldn't be more thrilled! I wanted to celebrate this huge accomplishment and also document some of the things that carried us through this incredibly challenging period of Cam's life. Whether I help someone else out or use this as a reference for the next baby (who I pray will not suffer from the same pain), I hope writing down these things will not only benefit the future, but celebrate how far we have come!

• In the beginning, keeping Cam upright after feedings (at least 30 minutes) was key. This meant that really he didn't get much tummy time, but he also didn't get a flat head because he was being held or "sitting" up most of the time. 
• We spent a LOT of money on products that we thought would help Cam -- a wedge for the crib, thick burp cloths/bibs, various bottles/nipples, and more. The wedge was pretty useless (he slid off it all the time) but the Aiden and Anais burpy bibs were the best investment for a pukey kid.
• We also tried many different sleeping arrangements since the kid could only sleep for 20 minutes without waking up from puking. He started off in the newborn bassinett on the Pack N Play which was slightly elevated. Once that small incline (maybe a 5% incline) wasn't enough, we put his bouncy chair in the Pack n Play and he slept there for several weeks. We finally got a couple hour stretches out of him in that thing. Life saver... until he was getting too big and I was too nervous to not be awake watching him.
• Enter the Rock n Play. Oh, the Rock n Play. Best $50 we spent by far. Cam slept in this elevated bassinett for six months!! Once his reflux subsided a bit by six months, we moved him into his crib where he did fine. I was so afraid the transition would be brutal because the little babe had never slept flat on his back, but he LOVED spreading out in his crib. It was so easy, and my worrying was really just wasted time (as usual). 
• Sitting up. Both our GI and Pediatritian said as soon as Cam starts sitting up on his own, his spit up would subside due to stronger stomach muscles. So I encouraged him to sit up way early. Luckily, he was a strong kid anyway, and by four months was really able to sit up well.
• We went through two medications and three various formulas. We started with Axid which really didn't do anything for him (and we think actually caused some tummy pain for him) and then moved onto Prevacid. We started with the liquid suspension of Prevacid and then moved onto the solutabs. The solutabs seemed to work a bit better, though it was harder to get all the medication in his system since we had to dissolve it ourselves. We started with Enfamil Gentlease forumla, moved to Similac Sensitive and then finally settled on Nutramigen which he used for about three months. We are now back on Gentlease. 
• I am pretty sure we wouldn't have survived without the help from our family, friends and amazing doctors. My mom stayed with us for 5 weeks in the beginning, then flew back on an instant's notice to help rock Cam, hold me as I cried, and came to countless doctor appointments with me. My sisters, friends and neighbors all brought food, spent hours on the phone with me detailing what worked in the past for them, and mostly just listened to me. And our doctors, who never rolled their eyes when they saw me in the office for the third time in a week. They sat as long as I needed and answered my questions. They held Cam when he wouldn't stop crying and I just needed a break. I am so thankful.

I'd also like to offer a small piece of advice to anyone else going through this that I did not receive from anyone. When getting ready for a new baby, do not put in new carpets. Luckily, when Rick and I debated about replacing our carpets a year ago, we decided to wait on it because Cam has successfully ruined all our carpets with stains from his "juices." So in a way, I have my little bunny to thank for starting the carpet shopping process now because neither Rick or I can stand looking at ours any longer.

I really think the best thing for Cam was growing up. The bigger he got and stronger he became, the more comfortable he seemed to be. People told me all along it would get better at 2 months, then 4 months, 6 months, etc. Everyone had their own opinion on when I would see the light, and I spent many weeks counting down until that next time period when I would feel free from the reflux hell. By about 4 months old, I realized he'd overcome this on his own timeline and it was a slow process, but he did it. I'm so happy that he's happy. I'm so proud of us for making it through without going completely insane. I'm so thankful he was our first baby because I can't imagine doing this with another child to tend to.

I feel like we've won the gold medal in Reflux Survival, but instead of a heavy medal strapped around our necks, we get to walk away with this as our beloved prize:

Nursery Side Table and Master Bed

The little white side table in Cam's nursery is probably a good ten years old. It was my night stand in college and has been getting good use ever since. As I've been trying to spruce up his room, the plain white table was like an eye sore to me. I was in bed last night thinking about this dilemma and realized I had some extra supplies from this previous project. With a little elbow grease, some spray paint for the knob and a lot of love, here's how it came out:

For anyone who is into crafting, I highly recommend using this product to seal any wood, paper or other surfaces you use to craft with. I sprayed it over the entire table to seal the contact paper, and it left a nice sheen on the exposed white parts. It's non-toxic, too!

I've also finally completed my major summer project: our master bedroom. For our anniversary, Rick and I decided not to exchange gifts, but rather purchase something together that we wanted but had been hesitant to buy in the past because it seemed like an unnecessary item. A bed frame. I had my eye on a particular bed, and it looks perfect in our bedroom.

I also played around with the above-the-bed artwork I had created from an earlier project. I decided there needed to be a larger element to anchor the wall, and I think it looks so much better than the three smaller squares alone.

Finally, I really wanted to tie in the yellow, grey and white from the wall decor into the bed. I could NOT find yellow and white throw pillows, but I came across a pillowcase on sale from West Elm and used our old throw pillows from our bed and recovered them with the regular pillow cases. I used a hot glue gun because I can't sew, so they are definitely not professional looking, but I love the stripes and the color so I don't pay attention to the lack of seams. 

 

I'm moving onto our living room next. We are biting the bullet and purchasing a new couch because Maizey has destroyed ours and it's also incredibly old (from Rick's bachelor days!) I'm scouting out ideas for curtains and have an idea for some DIY pillows, too. If you see anything cute or have any ideas for me... send them my way! 

Food for Thought

*This post probably won't interest many, but for the few moms out there who read this and are curious about the food they're feeding their little munchkins, I think it's important to share this information. When I told a few friends about my discoveries, they were shocked. Hope this helps someone else out, too!*

Baby food should be simple, right?! Mash up some bananas and feed it to baby. So it seems.

I've been a food label reader for a while. My hobby revved up back when Maizey was a puppy and I learned about the dog food industry. If you haven't read your dog's food label recently, you should. Then look up the ingredients and it will probably make you think twice about what you're feeding your best friend.

Anyway, when Cam was five months old and refused to eat my homemade purees that I made for him, I had to resort to packaged baby food because he liked the smooth and creamy texture better. I immediately went for the organic stuff and quickly realized how expensive baby food is! At that point, I was just happy Cam was eating food, so buying jarred fruits and veggies didn't bother me so much. Not until I was in the baby aisle picking out some food for him a few months ago and happened to see a new Gerber baby food label. It looked like this:

It said "Smart", "Organic," and "DHA" so I thought, "great!" DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid that is found in breast milk and helps brain and eye development in babies. It's been regarded as an important nutrient for babies throughout infancy to foster proper development, so I immediately thought it was a brilliant idea to put it in baby food (rather than solely in formula).

Then I read the ingredients list:

Yup, tuna oil. Tuna is source of DHA found in this baby food. If you continue reading, you'd also see there is gelatin listed as an ingredient. At first, I was shocked because I did not want to be feeding Cam tuna -- with my history of allergies, I've been super careful about introducing one food to him at a time to ensure he doesn't have a bad reaction. Giving tuna to a five month old didn't seem smart. There's a reason pregnant women are cautioned about eating too much tuna during their nine month ordeal -- mercury levels. While mercury poisoning is rare, it's still a real problem and I cringe to think about the babies who are eating jar after jar of this baby food and their parents have no idea what's inside.

After about a month of eating jarred foods, I tried giving Cam some of my homemade stuff again and now he'll eat it all up with a smile on his face. It's ridiculously cheaper, relatively easy, and I actually have fun making him food. I use my regular Cuisinart food processor and freeze portioned size amounts of the food to be defrosted as he wants it. I like having the control over what goes into the food and how chunky the consistency is.

Interestingly, I learned after doing some research that not all fruits and vegetables are greatly affected by pesticides. It makes sense if you think about it -- you don't eat the peel of a banana, so the chance of you ingesting harmful pesticides from eating a fruit that has an inedible shell are slimmer. When I told a friend that she didn't need to be buying everything organic, she was so happy she almost couldn't believe it! Here's a website with helpful information about which fruits and veggies you should buy organic all the time (they are also known as The Dirty Dozen so you can Google that any time if you forget)! I always buy my meat and dairy organically, but now I feel like I have a little leeway with my produce, and it has made a huge difference in the pocketbook.

Finally, I want to bring another label to the attention of my mommy friends who are feeding yogurt to their babies. Cam ate his first bites of greek yogurt yesterday and loved it! (He made a sour puss face at first, but then liked it a lot). I decided to go with plain greek yogurt because of this label I read on the Yo Baby Yogurt I was eyeing in the grocery store:

22 grams of sugar!! The second ingredient listed on the Yo Baby label was sugar. Second ingredient! I couldn't even begin to fathom Cam's energy level after a container of this stuff. So I passed it up, went for the plain greek yogurt and when we got home, I mixed in some whole banana and made my own fruit yogurt. Made me feel a lot better about what was going into his mouth.

Hope I've inspired some of you to check out what you're putting on the table or dog food bowl.