Weaning Chronicles: Day 17

Last night we began phasing out our evening feeding, leaving only the couple of nighttime feedings left which we'll work on next week (not looking forward to that since it's Wyatt's favorite time to feed and one that helps us all sleep). I started getting pretty uncomfortable in the evening and was so happy that Wyatt woke up a little early so that I could feed him. I think it might be time to go buy some cabbage. Oy vey. Perhaps I could introduce the family to steamed cabbage at dinner one night. I wonder if they'd eat it once they found out that I cooked it in my bra though? ;)

5 Days. 10 Things. 1 Family. = 250 Items Closer to Simplicity.

I know when I see a great blog or blog posting and much like my recipes and food photography, when I come across something great I want to tell the world. I simply HAD to share this blog posting. By the GREAT weekend for doing some Spring Cleaning! Click on the 10x5 Project below and get started--leave me some comments on how everything worked for you--inquiring minds (me) want to know :)

The 10x5 Project. Make like Nike--just do it!




**Photo credits care of TheHappyFamilyMovement.com**

D is for Delicious

I have a friend who's really more like family who always talks about how she hates when people post photos of their food on Facebook. God love her, but there's nothing like gorging on a delicious dish while seated around the dinner table with the fam and you know you've made a great meal when you feel the unstoppable urge to grab your camera and share it with others. Therefore, I'm in favor of food photography and so feast your eyes on these babies!! Believe me, they taste as good as they look, enough to make you want to slap your Mama and because I love sharing good food with good people, here's my recipe :)

Slap Your Mama Good Stuffed Green Peppers

Ingredients:

6 green bell peppers, tops cut away and seeds removed
1/4 cup dried onion spice
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell peppers
1 lb. ground pork or beef or an even mixture of both
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1/4 cup dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups cooked long or medium grain white rice
2 8oz. cans of tomatoe sauce
water
grated parmesan or parmesan/romano cheese blend

Directions:

-Preheat over to 350 degrees.
-In a large pot of boiling water, parboil the peppers until just tender--3 minutes. Drain water and leave peppers in pot.
-In a large saute pan, brown meat along with minced garlic and half of the dried onions and parsley. While meat is browning prepare rice.
-Drain meat mixture and add to prepared rice along with other half of dried parsley and onions, salt, pepper, and 1 can of tomato sauce. Mix well.
-Stuff peppers with meat and rice mixture.
-Pour enough water into a baking dish to just cover the bottom, about 1/8 inch deep
-Stand peppers in dish and bake for 30 minutes or until peppers are very tender and filling is heated throughout. Meanwhile, warm the other can of tomato sauce in a sauce pan over low heat.
-When peppers are finished baking, top with heated tomato sauce and parmesan cheese.
-Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings

A Week In The Life...

Weaning Chronicles - Day 8

Well, we're a day off schedule because of vaccinations yesterday at his 1-year appointment making Wyatt so fussy that I didn't have the heart to take away another feeding. Today we've eliminated our morning feeding leaving only those at bedtime and throughout the night. What's really hilarious is that since we've begun this weaning process when Wyatt is presented with a breast he let's out this diabolical laugh and comes running!

Later in the day 8 UPDATE: (I'm a poet and didn't know it ;)
I was finally able to get Wyatt to drink from a bottle today!!! YAY!!! To smoothly transition his tastebuds to good ole moo cow's milk I blended 4 ounces of Vanilla PediaSure with 4 ounce of whole milk and tossed in 3 scoops of powder formula for the extra nutrients--baby's one year check up didn't show a weight gain from his 9 month check up due to all the ear infections he's been having which is a whole other post that is soon to come--and after 3 or 4 attempts at prodding, he gulped that bottle right on down. What a relief, this is going to make things SO much easier! :)

Coming Clean

Give me warmth, indeed. That was the title of my last post, except for that latter word, and boy, did Mother Nature deliver giving us almost 80-degree weather in February, so odd that it confused the daffodils and cherry blossoms into blooming! Now, it's March and although not quite spring yet, the warm weather is much more seasonable and so comes with that, spring cleaning. I've always questioned this urge to clean when the weather becomes nice out. You would think one should want to clean in the wintertime when they are bundled up in warm houses, out of the cold with nothing else to do. Of course when bundled up so nice and cozy with loved ones, namely the dog peacefully curled up sleeping at your feet, who can really stand to move and wake him. Not me. And so, spring cleaning it is.

I got this so-called spring cleaning urge yesterday when finishing some last touches at the house before everyone arrived for Wyatt's party. I was steam cleaning the kitchen floor, (which by the way if any of my crawling or toddling baby mama's out there don't already have one of these...run, run, run to the store to get one, it is amazing! No more nasty mops, buckets, or mop water to contend with and you don't have to worry about harmful chemicals because it steams and sterilizes with hot water alone. Most importantly, it is lightweight and so easy to use that you can use it every day). But as I was saying, I was steam cleaning the kitchen floor when I noticed that my cleaner didn't quite get into the corners of the underside of the cabinets, you know where those stray bread crumbs run to hide after you've made the kid's lunches the night before school? So, there I was, down on my knees with a wet paper towel wiping down these corners....

In the middle of writing this blog I found out that someone that I used to know passed away after an almost 6 year battle with breast cancer. I'm completely heartbroken at hearing this unfortunate news. I didn't know her terribly well, in fact, I met her through my old boss who introduced me to Silpada jewelry, and in turn, to Tara, who was very successful in the company. I got together with Tara several times hosting parties for her in my home. One of those times she brought two of her daughters, both just as sweet and lovely as she was. She hoped to recruit me as a representative working under her and while I was interested, the timing just wasn't right. Tara was an incredibly genuine person, her smile infecting anyone it came in contact with. Happy, my old boss and I used to playfully joke about how she always answered her phone, with a cheerful and emphatic "HI Christy!!!" She was pure sunshine, the kind of person we can all only hope to be in this lifetime and yet I find it so dishearteningly unfair that she had to leave this earth, her husband, and four beautiful girls behind while other people, horrible people like Michael Vick and Scott Peterson, are allowed to share the same air we breathe.

In saying all of this, I originally intended this blog to be about cleaning or coming clean, as it were, an idea that just seems so trivial now, petty even. With Tara in mind, I think I'll leave the last of those bread crumbs in the corner of my kitchen floor to congregate with their families for a little while longer. I can clean another day. I want to spend a little extra time with my family...time that is so incredibly precious. You should do the same, dear reader. Rest in peace, sweet Tara.

Weaning Chronicles - Day 4

So far, so good...today will be Wyatt's 4th day without a daytime feeding. I'm planning to begin phasing out our morning feeding on Tuesday giving him a full week without daytime feedings. I don't want to rush things as you can see from the photo of the day, he's still having a bit of a hard time. I've been keeping him sustained during the day with Pediasure and snacks, his current favorite (and mine): Vanilla Cupcake Graham Goldfish. Delicious!

Happy Birthday Wyatt!!!

Dang, this year FLEW by!!!

Weaning Chronicles: Day 1

Here we go...well, I successfully managed to cut out Wyatt's daytime feeding yesterday. I kept him preoccupied with other snacks and drinks. Hopefully we can keep this up for the next week or so and then we'll work on cutting out our morning feeding.