Organization Challenge: Week 1

Well, week one of my organizational challenge is complete. Let me tell y'all, I got a LOT done! Below is the short list of the main projects week one called for, though I followed the more detailed plan which involved getting rid of seven items each day and doing a fifteen minute cleaning of various rooms each day. I thought getting rid of seven items every day would be hard, but it was actually the easy part. I'm shocked at how much stuff I was able to part with, and Rick hasn't even complained yet about his missing things!

Day One's Seven 15 Items! I'm an overachiever, so what?!

Week 1
 Day 1. Clean out your purse and/or diaper bag.
 Day 2. Clean out your refrigerator. There’s a step-by-step guide for cleaning out your refrigerator here.
 Day 3. Clean out your freezer. If you need step-by-step help, read this guide on How to Clean Out Your Freezer.
 Day 4. Clean out underneath your beds and furniture. Remove clutter and trash and put it away or throw it away. Move the furniture (if possible) and vacuum underneath.
 Day 5. Clean your couch. Remove your couch cushions and clean out any crumbs, toys, or other miscellaneous items you find. Use an attachment on your vacuum to vacuum the cushions, underneath the cushions, and all crevices of your furniture. Spot clean the fabric, if needed. 

I did a little extra and cleaned out some closets and drawers that had been giving me nightmares. I organized Cam's dresser and closet. I went through his clothes and reorganized the things I wanted to keep and donated two bags worth of the stuff that I could do without. The trunk of my car is now at capacity with a load of items I am bringing to a local women's shelter.

I also embarked on some DIY projects which I'll post about when I finally put the finishing touches on our living room and decide to reveal the hard work Rick put into building our IKEA items. 

Looking forward to this week's tasks and an upcoming, very much needed vacation this weekend without our little man. It will be the first time we've left the little nugget with someone for a whole weekend. I couldn't be more excited to relax and recharge with Rick, but I'm already missing my little chunky monkey and I haven't even left yet! 

Nine Months!

Dear Campbell,

Today you are nine months old. That means you're three-fourths of the way through your first year. At this point, I'm really starting to feel like time is flying by too fast. You're changing so quickly and I'm often afraid to blink.

We will go to your doctor appointment next week to find out how much you weigh and how tall you are, but let me tell you -- you have grown! You are wearing size 12 month clothes (some 18 months too!) and size 3 diapers (size 4 at night). Your legs are essentially trunks and you love to stand as much as you can. You'd much rather stand than sit or try to crawl. You are still rocking on all fours, but you really haven't had any interest in crawling yet, and I'm okay with that! Though I hate to see you frustrated that you can't move quite yet, I'm enjoying your immobility because I know it won't last much longer. You are clapping now with both hands open and you are trying to pull up on things, too! We've had so much fun watching you reach all these fun milestones this month.

You are still eating like a champ! You have four bottles a day, and a breakfast, lunch and dinner in between. You still eat mostly purees, but you also like to eat banana, avocado, scrambled eggs and black beans. You love your Mum Mums and yogurt melts and you have a very serious relationship going on with water. You love to drink it from your sippy cup and from a regular glass (though you get yourself soaked when I let you do that!)

You are still sleeping great, too. You go to bed around 7 and wake up around 6. Some mornings you'll sleep later and sometimes you wake up at 5:30. It's always a fun game to make bets on how late you'll sleep in! You take two naps a day at 9:00 am and 1:30 pm. You've become an awesome napper, and I am so grateful. I'm able to get so much done during the day now, and you are such a happy bunny when you get some good rest.

Some things I don't want to forget about you right now...

• The way you flap your arms up and down so fast when you get excited about something
• The way you suck on your lips now because your teeth feel funny against your cheeks
• Your bear hugs. You wrap your arms around me now and just squeeze. Love. 
• How ticklish you are. Your dad can make you laugh so hard you can't breathe. It's hilarious.
• Typically when you are done eating or drinking, you'll seal your lips tight or push the bottle away. Except at night. For your bedtime bottle, when you decide you are full and finished, instead of pushing the bottle away, you look over to the nightstand at the pile of books as if to say, "Okay, Mom, I'm ready for story time. Let's go!" 
• You love musical instruments. You love banging the drums, the piano, shaking maracas and bells. You are even starting to imitate some of the rhythms that your teachers and I do. 
• You are a babbling machine! You are discovering new sounds every day and you wake up now just ready to talk your way through the day. Lots of "ba, ga, dabee, ooo"
• You're becoming very wary about being in other people's arms. I understand you want to be with Mommy and Daddy, but we are pushing you to try new things and explore your world with us right there to support you. 
• You have two teeth! 

Bunny, I love you so much and have had such a fun month with you. Happy nine month day to you!

Love,
Mommy 

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: