Family Funday!

Realizing today that Alec doesn't get spoiled the way Carsyn had been - I took matters into my own hands. I escaped the house for some frivolous shopping and he was my partner in crime! I took it upon myself to buy him some teethers, a new lovey, and another toy.... JUST BECAUSE!

I put him in our Front-Back carrier (AKA crotch dangler) so he could see around as I walked. He LOVED it. I never heard a peep out of him. All I heard was him sucking his hand like crazy. Someone then commented to me that he had passed out. I so wish I had a pic of that! I did get a pic of him once he was settled in his car seat.

While we were gone Chris did yard work and pushed Carsyn on the swing with a sprinkler going underneath... I hear it was a big hit!!

Carsyn had quite the interest in Alec's new toy, of course, so we let Carsyn show Alec how to use it. After dinner we took the boys to the Community Center for some indoor swimming fun! They have water slides, a tire swing, and a bunch of water falls. Carsyn was in heaven!! Alec seemed content hanging out in the water... so content that he passed out again!! LOL. Afterwards we took the boys home and they were both so exhausted from the day that they went right to sleep like little angels. I love my kids! 

Sex and the City 2 - Review

Yesterday Chris and I met with a co-worker and his wife for 'date night'. We met at Famous Dave's for dinner. It was my first time ever eating there. It was good, however, I will admit my expectations for the meat were higher. Their sides were all amazing, the meat was so-so. I got a half rack of ribs.

Then we went to the theater to watch Sex and the City 2. I am happy to report that in a packed theater my husband and my co-worker made up 50% of the four total males in the theater. Yes, they complained. They only went because we reeeally wanted to see it.

REVIEW - Obviously, it wasn't as good as the first. I mean... really, what sequel is! It was good though and I really enjoyed it. It was a little different now that they all (for the most part) are in relationships. It was a lot less 'Sex' and no 'City'. Like I said though, if you enjoy the girls you will enjoy the movie. Just expect it to be more about their friendship and the troubles with coupledom then the glitz and glamour of being single in New York.

It was a great night out with the husband and I look forward to another dinner and movie night with him soon!

Locate show times in your area

Who loves Luvs?

We are trying out new diapers this week! We got a free sample of Luvs for Alec in the mail with a coupon. I didn't notice any problems with the first one we tried and they are a lot cheaper then Pampers/Huggies. So, I bought a box for Carsyn because if they can handle his diaper filling then they will work out perfectly! I never tried them before because we had some Target brand ones when Carsyn was born that were terrible. I actually gave them all away because I disliked them that much. After that I was too afraid to try another 'cheap' brand. I will keep you posted on how they work out!!!

Get OFF your BROTHER...

Four words I better get used to being the mom of two boys!! First Chris, now Alec. Carsyn is constantly sitting on people to watch television. I don't get the obsession. LOL. Funny thing is... Alec doesn't even mind. I did have to draw the line after the last picture though!!!

Long week!

It has been a very busy week at work for me so I am finally done freezing all my baby food... It ended up being 176 jars worth!! If you figured .45 per jar (I believe that is how much the generic brand is) I save just over $55 on that batch alone! Not too shabby!

I am off work the next three days so hoping to have lots to blog about :)

Baby Food Day 2: The process

Well I did it... I made blueberries, peas, bananas, pears, sweet potatoes, and apples today. Here is what I did!

Blueberries: Steam a small carton of fresh bluberries until mushy. Puree in blender with six bananas and 2 scoops of dry formula powder. (the formula is optional, I only added it for more nutrients).

Peas: I microwaved three bags of Steamfresh sweet peas. I then pureed them with 10 oz total of prepared formula. (you can use breast milk)

Bananas: One dozen ripe bananas pureed with approximately 12 ounces of prepared formula or breast milk.

Pears: I used eight pears. Peal with potato peeler and core like an apple. Cut into cubes and steam until tender. Puree with approximately 1-2 scoops of powder formula (optional).

Sweet Potatoes: I used four large potatoes. Peal and cut into cubes. Steam until tender. Puree with approximately 15-20 ounces of prepared formula or breast milk.

Apples: Five red apples, I used Jonathan. Peal, core, and cut into cubes. Steam until tender. Puree with one ounce of water or breast milk. I then added one scoop of powder formula (optional).

Put your baby food in ice cube trays and freeze. Place in storage container (I am using freezer storage bags) and leave in freezer. Warm when ready to use.

*TIPS*
-I use the prepared formula simply to get the desired consistency that I want. Use more or less based on you and baby's preference. If you breast feed and don't have a lot of extra milk to use, you can either use formula, plain water, or a water/breast milk combo.

-Two cubes is approximately equal to a small jar of baby food. Because you are preparing them this way you can create fun and different flavors for you little one by using one cube of each flavor, for example apple-pear, banana-pear, etc. You will also waste less when baby first starts out trying food because you can use one cube vs. wasting a jar of food when you only use half!

-The website I used advised that the bananas may turn a little brown now and/or when you use them. It says this is normal.

-be careful for clumps!!!!!!!

When I am done making up my cubes I will let you know how many "jars" I end up making and how much money I save!! Stay tuned... this whole freezing process is going to take a bit!!!

Baby Food: The grocery list

Here is my grocery list for my recent stint in baby food making. I made carrots (prior post), peas, sweet potatoes, pears, blueberries, apples, and bananas! I can't wait to see how much money I am saving. The results will be in a later post when I figure out how many cubes each makes. But for now...

3 bags steamfresh peas $3.75
8 pears $3.37
4 large sweet potatoes $2.84
32 oz baby carrots $3.98
small container of blueberries $2.75
5 Jonathan apples $3.16
18 bananas $2.50

GRAND TOTAL-----------> $22.35

I made baby food!! Carrots...

I did something tonight I never thought I would do. I made baby food!! Alec will be 14 weeks old on Friday, not sure when he will be ready to start trying them but when he is... I will be too! I never really had an interest in doing it but, my Grandma sent over a big 32 oz bag of baby carrots that she didn't have use for and I had just bought a bag myself so I was wondering what I would do with ALL of those carrots. So I decided to try out the baby food making business. It was so easy I decided I am going to make all of his food, its a huge money saver also! Now I am really regretting having not done this with Carsyn.

If you are interested and haven't looked into it yourself, I will tell you all about it!

1) Steam baby carrots or peal and cut larger carrots into 1" - 1.5" pieces. Steam until tender and can easily be punctured with a fork (about 45 minutes).

2) Place the carrots in your blender. Add 2 ounces of breast milk or formula for every 1 cup of carrots. Hit the puree button!!

3) If you want to you can strain to remove the larger pieces. My blender was awesome so I found I didn't need to do this.

4) Spoon into ice cube trays and freeze overnight.

5) Breakout the cubes and place in a storage container of your choice. When its time to feed baby remove a cube or two and warm it. Cubes should be good for three months!

I wasn't planning on doing this until last minute today so I am going to store mine in my fridge tonight until I can get to the store tomorrow and buy some ice cube trays. I was amazed at how much it made. With one 32 oz bag of carrots I filled a large 16 oz Cool Whip container!!!! For comparison sake, here it is next to a jar of baby food! I can't wait to try different foods. My good friend GOOGLE helped me learn how. I look forward to my Dad's garden to get going... free green beans, squash, and all sorts of other great veggies!!! I am going to try some banana blends tomorrow!!

The joys of boys....

Chris is currently gone again for the Army. Fortunately, it is only for two weeks this time. So, since Carsyn didn't want to go to bed last night I let him do something I rarely let him do... sleep with me! When I woke up at 5:30 to feed Alec this is what I found--------->

I was woken up again around 6:30 with Alec crying. I knew what it was that time. Carsyn. I don't know why he has to do this, but every day when he wakes up he deems it necessary to wake his brother up as well. So I go into Alec's room and there is Carsyn, under blankets laying next to Alec in the crib. The mobile and every other toy in the crib going and playing music. Sigh. So I grab Carsyn and bring him back to my room. Luckily, Alec went right back out. I thought Carsyn did the same... well...

When I woke up this morning, for the third time... to my horror... I found Carsyn, shoulder deep in the toilet. He was soaked head to toe in toilet water and had put an entire roll of toilet paper into the toilet. He was working ever so hard to unclog the toilet with a baby bottle brush. I could have died!

Here is the monster after he threw dog food all over my laundry room and crawled into the dog food

Brothers in love....

My attempt at three month pics of Alec (I won't quit my day job)

Carsyn cleaning... again

Alec isn't old enough for solids yet... but I gave him a few bites of prunes this morning to help "move him along" I hope it works!

**Just a few of the joys... of my amazing baby boys**

He says Mama!

Finally! Carsyn says Mama. You know those words you pray will be his first. Not my child! He says truck, cookie, pizza "deet-saaah", buh-bye, and Eddie (yes. Eddie. That's the dog), along with several others. He also repeats sentences. But NO Mama. My pediatrician was actually concerned about it at his last appointment. But the thing is he understands it. If i say "let Mama see" or "give Mama kiss" he does! Now, one month shy of his SECOND birthday... I hear that beautiful word come out of his mouth. My Mom told Carsyn "say buh-bye Mama see you later". And Carsyn said "See you later Mama". UH! I could have CRIED! He has said it several times since.... but only when prompted "Carsyn say...".; I can't wait until he addresses me as Mama on his own. He has also started saying I love you "I low-woo" when told to say it. Its so cute!! His lips look lip-tied when he says it because he has to try so hard! Sigh, I love him!

Lets not forget the little guy... here is Alec loving his excersaucer!

Work is Good

My first week back to work went really well. Twenty minutes into my shift it all came back to me! Like riding a bike, I guess. I was worried because I spent three months in dispatch and three months on maternity leave. That is a long time! The boys went to Chris's parents for the weekend and that seemed to go well also. I missed them like crazy! I met my Mother-in-Law, Kim, for breakfast with the boys and then we spent Mother's Day with my mom who cooked an amazing dinner. We got our Mamas some flowers and assorted gift cards. I didn't get a Mother's Day gift from Chris but thats ok... I have amazing little boys from him. He did, however, let me sleep in today since he couldn't yesterday (work). Hope all you Mamas out there had a great day yesterday as well!

(excuse the edits: I have to be within department policy to post pics on the Internet)

Me & Alec

Me & Chris

BFFs

Last night was a GREAT night. Myself, three of my besties, and our significant others escaped the kiddos for a night out. We started the night at Benihanas for dinner. If you haven't been there I recommend you try it with a group. The cook comes to your table and cooks your food on a giant skillet in the middle of the table. Yummy! Then we continued on to Dave & Busters to drink and play. It was an amazing time! I am feeling the pain today for sure but... I guess that comes with playing hard. Thankfully Chris has been picking up my slack so I can lounge. Tomorrow is the day.. after twelve weeks of freedom its back to work for me! I am extremely sad, I have really enjoyed my time home.