Disagree vs. Hate

big•ot noun \ˈbi-gət\ : a person who strongly and unfairly dislikes other people, ideas, etc. : a bigoted person; especially : a person who hates or refuses to accept the members of a particular group (such as a racial or religious group)

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bigot

I have seen this word tossed around a lot in the past few days in reference to Christians with a traditional view on sin according to the Bible. I think I have it figured out, non-believers can’t fathom disagreeing with something and still being able to love the person. As Christians, that is what we are called to do. I’m a strong believer in the word of God and I know that is getting less and less popular these days but popularity has never mattered that much to me anyway.

I grew up in a very Christian home, my parents were (and continue to be) missionaries in South America. I grew up in a third world country being home schooled by my parents (“Well, she must be socially retarded!”). I have cared for the sick, homeless, hungry and widowed with no regard to their faith, color, age or sexual preference. But more than that, I’ve LOVED these people (some being strangers and others being close friends)! Some of my friends and I have had vastly different views on things like politics, religion, drugs & sexuality and we still manage to love and respect one another.

What I get tired of is hearing “how Christians are supposed to act” by non-Christians. “You’re supposed to be accepting and loving.” We are supposed to love our neighbor but are not called to accept sin! This is not a debate on homosexuality, I don’t want to open that can of worms, it’s about Christians being mislabeled or maybe misunderstood is a better term. I have “tolerated” HUNDREDS of posts about “marriage equality” and have never tried to censor my friends (or anyone else for that matter) because their views differ from mine and I expect the same courtesy.

A few of my friends have posted, “'You are not some sort of “Patriot, fighting for the First Amendment rights of all Americans” if the only time you get upset about a person’s “rights being trampled” is when it happens to people who think exactly like you...And if the only free speech that you support is speech that you agree with, that doesn’t make you a “patriot.” It makes you a hypocrite. And that’s something completely different.” And that is true, however, Christians don’t have the power to censor things we disagree with, we are a minority. If that were the case, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Kim & Kanye wouldn’t be nearly as popular.

When you ask a Christian what their view of sin is, be prepared to hear their honest opinion. Don’t ask someone a question that you have an idea what the answer is and then get mad at them for having a differing opinion from yours. Saying, “Here are my beliefs according to the Bible.” And going on to say, “It isn’t my job to discriminate/pass judgment, it’s my job to love.” Is not “spewing hate” or being intolerant. Firing someone for having Christian values and sharing them when asked is pretty intolerant though.

Don’t tell me that my faith is full of intolerant bigots, my church loves everyone. Sure, there are folks out there that claim to be Christians and do not walk the walk (Looking at you Westboro) but that is like saying, “all blondes are airheads” or, “you must be an addict if you have tattoos”. I really dislike generalizations!

It is A&Es right, as an employer, to fire or suspend anybody they want to. They may have a lot of angry fans and may even lose the whole Robertson family. Do I think it was a mistake on their part? Yes. But it was their choice to make. I stand behind Phil because he was asked a question and answered it honestly and according to his beliefs. I stand behind him because he is my brother in Christ! He could have betrayed his beliefs to appeal to the general public but he stood firm on his faith and I applaud that! He didn’t hurt anyone, he didn’t promote hate (quite the opposite).

I wish all the folks on social media could keep it civil (both sides). There have been hurtful words exchanged between strangers and between people that, at some point, called one another “friends”. Yes, I’ve seen things on friends’ facebook walls these past few days that I disagree with but I don’t hate them! I’ll still hang out with them, our kids will still play together and we will continue to love each other. It all comes down to respecting views that differ from your own. Disagree, sure! Just don’t disrespect.

Tortellini soup

I made a pot of the best tortellini soup this weekend! It didn’t take long to make it on the stove and I will be making this again soon.

What you’ll need:

1 package tortellini from the refrigerated section.

1 Box veggie broth

1 (or 2) cans of Italian diced tomatoes

8 oz of cream cheese

1 cup Italian shredded cheese blend

several handfuls of fresh baby spinach

garlic or garlic powder to taste

Start with the broth, tomatoes, garlic, cheese and cream cheese and heat until cream cheese is completely melted and soup is boiling. Add tortellini and spinach, cover and simmer for 20 min or until tortellini is fully cooked. Even my picky husband and 2 year old liked it! I will be making this a lot this winter.

Charlie's soap

I recently had the chance to use some Charlie’s liquid laundry soap and their Oxygen Bleach. I mostly used it on diapers and on the girls’ clothes. I make my own laundry soap usually, but wanted to try something store bought. I LOVE the Oxygen Bleach! It does a great job on the diapers. With two girls (2&1/2 and 10 months) in cloth diapers, things get stinky around here pretty quick. The Oxygen Bleach does better than anything else I’ve tried on stinky diapers. I put two tablespoons of it in the wash and let the diapers soak before the wash cycle. It really did a great job!

I will probably stick with my homemade soap because it works just as well, and it’s cheaper (though I really liked the Charlie’s liquid a lot). However, I will probably switch from Oxy Clean to the Charlie’s Oxygen Bleach because it is truly superior and a little bit goes a long way!!

Pump and dump: Pouring liquid gold down the drain

We have been suffering from seasonal allergies and sinus junk in my house for a good 3 weeks and I finally had to break down and go to a walk-in clinic on Tuesday night because on top of a pounding head and intense sinus pressure (nothing new for me). I also started having severe pain in my left ear. We're talking ice pick to the ear drum kind of pain.

I saw a nurse practitioner at the walk in clinic that told me I had an ear infection and a sinus infection (as I suspected) and wrote me a prescription for a Z-pack. He then informed me that I would have to quit nursing my 9 month old because the antibiotic crosses in the breast milk and it could cause a reaction or resistance in the baby. I begged for something else and he told me he would tell me the same thing no matter which antibiotic he prescribed. I was on the verge of tears when I left the office.

When I got in the car, I immediately called a family friend, who is a nurse and has worked as a lactation consultant, and cried on her shoulder. After talking and going over our options, she instructed me to talk to the pharmacist about it and see what he said. When I talked to him, he acted like it was a low risk and it would “probably be okay”, but to watch her for signs of digestive distress or other reactions.

The lactation consultant and I decided it was probably okay to nurse at night, but just to be safe I am giving her milk from my freezer stash (Hey, that is what it’s there for). In order to keep my supply up, I have to pump and dump. Yesterday alone I dumped over 10 oz! I may have shed a tear over it.

I’ve gotten some judgment over it, with people telling me it is totally unnecessary to pump and dump, but in all honesty I’d rather be safe than sorry. Chris, Zoey and I are all allergic to different antibiotics, so I don’t want to cause any issues with my baby if I can help it.

I’m not ready or willing to end our breast feeding relationship, yet, and more importantly, neither is the baby. She has a hard time taking a bottle from me and it breaks my heart a little each time I have to give her one.

These couple of weeks won’t be easy, but I’m just going to do the best I can.

What is the big deal with Disney princesses?

I’m not sure why Disney Princesses are getting such a bad reputation these days. Sure, some of them aren’t modestly dressed (I’m looking at you, Jasmine), but some of them love to read (Belle) or are great warriors (Mulan) or fight for their own rights to NOT marry (Merida). I’m not saying these princesses need to be our daughters’ only role models, but to ban Disney Princesses from my household is just too extreme for me. I am all for Disney making more empowered, self-reliant princesses, including princesses with a more realistic body and not so much cleavage showing.

My oldest daughter loves Beauty and the Beast and Tangled, but she also loves Iron Man, Hulk, Bible class, singing “Jesus Loves Me”, reading, wearing Mommy’s shoes, playing outside and many other things. We don’t let Belle or Rapunzel take over her life. She is a little girl and little girls like princesses.

I think responsibility for who our kids look up to falls on us as parents and each parent should make decisions for themselves. If you don’t want princesses in your house, that is fine with me. If I never spent any time with my children and only let them watch Disney movies, then sure, they might become obsessed with princesses. We do a lot of things besides watch movies and play dress-up. Children need to be well-rounded and that is part of our job as parents. Nobody freaks out over boys watching super heroes, afraid they will be obsessed with learning to fly and being disappointed when they don’t have supersonic speed. They are kids. Let them enjoy fantasy for a while.

My little princess in her Halloween costume (made by myself and my mother-in-law).

Like cheerios in a highchair

A fellow mom gave me some truly uplifting words the other day. I was feeling bad for going to work that morning (more so than usual) because Zoey cried and begged me not to leave her. I was talking about how hard it was and my friend (and fellow mom) began to tell me what a great job I do as a mother. She told me that I must be doing the “mom thing” right. She said that as a preschool worker she had seen kids that hated going home at night. She praised me for being a good mother and it truly made me feel better. When I thanked her for her kind words she said, “This mom thing is a hard gig! We gotta stick together like Cheerios on a high chair.” I love that quote!

We are all doing the best we can. It’s so easy to look at Mary Jane down the street and say, “She doesn’t nurse” or “She got an epidural” or “She posted a picture of her kid eating a McDonald’s chicken nugget!” and we don’t always stop so see the whole picture. Maybe she tried to nurse and couldn’t (or just didn’t want to), maybe her birth plan was different than yours or her pain was greater than yours was, maybe she spent all day running errands or was sick and just wanted to feed her kids a quick dinner. Maybe that working mom that you look down on is working so that she can give her kids a better life and a better future.

We should be “sticking together like cheerios in a high chair.” Motherhood is a sisterhood. Sometimes it gets lonely. You have a baby and your friends give you space and then you drift apart. Let’s work on building each other up and cheering each other on! You know how nice it is when someone says or does something nice for you, so why not spread that around? Let’s work on our relationships with fellow moms! It’s time to be Cheerios!

So you want to go on a road trip?

So you want to go on a road trip? Well, my little family has been on a couple of road trips over the past couple of weeks and they have gone better than I expected because I really prepared a lot for it.

I kept an eye on sales at Walmart and Target and got some Color Wonder supplies, crayons, note pads and stickers. We also got a portable DVD player on sale at Best Buy and took all our Disney movies (Thanks Trey). Lots of Kum & Go stations have Redbox kiosks, so we were even able to rent a DVD or two. A cooler full of drinks and snacks was Daddy’s brilliant idea!

We made frequent stops to stretch legs, go to the bathroom and to nurse the baby. We stopped at a couple of free local attractions along the way to run off a little energy and tried to find kid friendly places to eat (Steak N Shake and Chick-fil-A top the list). We may not be making the best drive time, but sometimes slow and steady wins the race.

St Louis

My family and I recently came back from a trip to St Louis to meet up with a fellow "Baby Lady" for the first time. We got there late Friday night and when we met for the first time; it wasn’t awkward at all! We ran up to each other and hugged like old friends. My husband and kids were up in our room, but her husband witnessed our giddy embrace with rolled eyes. We got settled into our rooms at the Hyatt with an awesome view of the arch (Thank you Priceline.com) and rested up for a fun-filled weekend!

On Saturday morning, we headed to the local zoo (free admission) and spent the better half of the day wandering around looking at all the animals. For a free zoo (we did have to pay for parking), it was incredible! We took turns pushing babies in the strollers and teased each other for our bad stroller driving. One child may or may not have tried to climb a short fence to an animal enclosure… good thing it wasn’t the lions!

That evening we headed down to the arch to let the kids run around before dinner and they had a blast together!

We went to dinner at Angelo’s Taverna and it was delicious! Great wait staff, huge portions, good prices and delicious food. If you are ever in town, you should stop by. We had so much food that we couldn’t finish it all and we had to get dessert to go (hey, it’s vacation)!

Sunday morning we got up and loaded our cars up to leave the hotel, went and had breakfast at Denny’s and then headed to The Magic House! It was $9.50 a person and worth every red cent. We were there for 4 hours and didn’t see about a third of what they had to offer. What a neat place for kids and adults to play! They really do have tons of fun things to do and we could have easily been there all day.

They had a whole little town type of thing set up with a grocery store, bank, electric company, fishing pond, ice cream stand, car shop, library and a hospital nursery. It was so neat!

Zoey LOVED the water table!

Even the babies had fun together in the little baby play area!

What mother doesn’t dream of her child becoming president at least once? They have an Oval Office so you can see for yourself how cool they will look behind that desk. I’ll be making election buttons soon 

It truly was an awesome trip! I wish it had been longer, one weekend wasn’t long enough with such a fun family. Our oldest still talks about her friends and asks for them by name! It really felt like we had been friends for years and not just Internet friends that were meeting for the first time!

Fall project

Well, it looks like fall is here…

Wait, it’s still in the 80s here in Arkansas!! Oh well, the calendar says it’s fall and pumpkin spice everything is out; so I am saying it’s here.

I decided to do a fun fall project with Zoey! I went to Wal-mart and got some of the decorative plastic pumpkins they have for $.97 and some kids craft paint. I dressed her in an old shirt, covered the table and let her paint! I only let her use one color at a time so we could do it again if we wanted to. Two-year-olds don’t know to not mix paint colors.

I chose plastic pumpkins because they last longer so I can keep them forever and compare each year; and so we can give them as gifts to family.

This project was obviously followed by a bubble bath. We don’t mind getting messy in our house!

The big one is for us and the little ones are for grandparents. She is so proud of them!

Full time mom with a part time job

“You must be well rested since you only work two and a half days a week.” or “Work must be a vacation for you.” are two things I hear when people find out that I work part-time… Both assumptions are incorrect.

Stay at home moms have the most demanding job ever! You’re a teacher, a nurse, a chef, a maid and a taxi driver. You don’t get a lunch break to run errands by yourself; heck, you don’t get a bathroom break by yourself! You fight picky eaters and kids that don’t want to take naps and you watch Caillou again and again on Netflix (tell me that isn’t just us). I am not well rested when I head into work, I’m exhausted! People that say,”What do you DO all day?” are just asking for a smackdown. I want to respond with, “Raising my children, not eating bon bons and watching soaps all day.” Being at home is a gift that I truly cherish but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t exhausting.

Work is not a vacation. I am still at work, away from my children and dealing with other people. When was the last time you got up after a sleepless night with a nursing baby and headed into work and said, “This is the life, what a vacation.”? That is just silly talk!

No matter what you do: Whether you work outside the home full-time, part-time or are a stay at home mom, YOU are important and appreciated! You work hard and deserve a huge pat on the back. Moms that work outside the home usually still come home and have a house to run and dinner to get on the table; while stay at home moms sometimes go days without ever leaving their house. It’s hard work either way but so rewarding!

I look at my baby girls and wonder how I ever lived without them! How was I not sure I would ever want to have kids? I’m tired 99% of the time but I am happier now than I ever was when I was well rested!

These are a few of my favorite things

One of the most anticipated Oprah shows of the year has always been her “Favorite Things” episode. Well I’m no Oprah and you aren’t getting a free car at the end of this post but it could still be a fun read. You might even decide to try one of my favorite things!

Here we go:

My monthly Birchbox

It’s like Christmas every month! You fill out a little online profile, and then they send you a box of beauty products to sample. After receiving your Birchbox, you can get online and review the products for points that you can use to order products! The cost is $10 a month.  I’ve received several full sized products in my monthly Birchbox. I love sharing some of the products I get with my mom and sisters.

The Tool Turn-About by Pampered Chef

It keeps all of my cooking tools at arms reach and it spins so I can easily get to what I need!

Yes to Cucumbersr Trio

The wipes are great for a busy mom like myself.  The face cream feels really great and smells amazing. I use the eye cream when I remember and it does seem to help a bit.  I like that Yes to Cucumbers is more natural than most of the other products on the market. It smells great and my skin feels great afterward!

Thirty One Inside-Out Bag

The two inside pockets and two outside pockets make it easy to have your keys, money, sunglasses and phone super handy! The bag is all cloth so it is easy to wash if you spill coffee in it (whoops) and it is of course really cute!

Copco Travel Mug

I love this because it is less than $10, it works well and it lasts (I’ve had mine for about 5 years). *BONUS* It is Microwave AND Dishwasher safe!!!

Aden + Anais Soothing Ointment

I wrote a review for this product a while back and it makes my favorites list FOR SURE! It works great for lips, cuticles, bug bites and scratches. It smells amazing and is free of: phytoestrogen, parabens, petroleum oils, phthalates, gluten and soy. The soothing ointment is good stuff!

Okay, there you have it! A few of my favorites.

Eat your heart out Oprah!

Mastitis & Milk Blisters are not for the faint hearted

Over the last week I have had quite the issue with my left breast. Normally that is the favored side for nursing because it produces about three times as much milk as righty does.

I woke up last Monday morning to a heavily engorged and sore breast. I tried nursing the baby on it more but it just hurt! I pumped several times but it didn’t seem to help at all!

Now, I’m no stranger to mastitis; I had it when my Izzie was about 4 weeks old. I had the fever, chills, body aches, the whole shebang. This time around I never had fever but by Tuesday I was at work and in a lot of pain. I felt like I had been hit by a train!

I also started noticing a severe pain in my nipple during latch on (think back to the first weeks of nursing and multiply that by about five) and I noticed a white bump… The dreaded milk blister :-/

So what has brought me some relief? Moist heat, Epsom Salt soaks, Hydra Gel packs, Lansinoh cream, Triple Antibiotic ointment, nursing & pumping often, olive oil soaked cotton balls, Tylenol (one desperate night) and as much rest as I can get with two wild girls in the house. Finally things are back to normal, THANK GOD!!!

What works for you when you have mastitis and/or milk blisters?

Candy crazy!

Sometimes I get teased by friends or family because I don’t want my kids eating junk food or sweets, especially too close to mealtime or bed time! I think we have become so indulgent in our culture that we have a “dessert first” mentality. “Let kids be kids” they say when I don’t allow a cupcake half an hour before dinner or, “It’s only a couple of M&Ms, that won’t spoil her appetite.” Well, it does! When you give a child candy soon before meal time they don’t want to eat their meal because they have had a taste of sweets and they want more.

A prime example is the other night somebody gave my daughter half of a peppermint right before supper. I put her in her chair and gave her a plate and she pointed to the counter where the other half of the peppermint was and kept asking for that instead of her supper. She kept saying “I don’t like this. I want peppermint,” while one of her favorite meals sat in front of her untouched. She eventually got down and waited an hour or so before eating.

I have noticed that the days where my daughter snacks more, she hardly touches her supper and I think it’s partly because she isn’t as hungry and partly because she has been “spoiled” all day with snacks.

I try really hard to serve balanced meals and some days are a lot harder than others. There will be days when they don’t want what you serve for dinner. On those days I offer yogurt and either a graham cracker or a piece of fruit before bed so she won’t wake up in the middle of the night starving (she is only 2 after all).

We have candy and junk in our house and my kids won’t be sheltered from the good things in life, like chocolate! I just want them to have a healthy relationship with food.

Airing my clean laundry!

Here is the recipe for my laundry detergent…

1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax

1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean

1 (14.1 oz) Bar of Fels Naptha Soap (grated)

1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

Grate soap with either a hand grater or food processor (the soap dissolves just fine, even in cold water). I use a large dry wall bucket that I got from my Mother-in-Law and just start layering each ingredient little by little (like a soap lasagna), I mix it up with my big stainless kitchen spoon as I add each new “layer” so that it is well mixed. I use the scoop from the Oxy Clean and fill it up to the 1 for normal loads and the 2 for really dirty stuff. I usually use the “soak” setting if I’m not in a hurry but you don’t have to. A batch of this stuff lasts about 8 to 10 months in my house with laundry for four. Happy washing!

Dehydration education

As a nursing mom I have let myself get dehydrated way too many times! You get busy taking care of your children and you go all day without a drop of fluids. You eat a sandwich with a baby on your hip and think, “I’ll get some water when my hands are free”, but that never happens and before you know it you are SICK!

Dehydration presents differently in everyone but for me it usually starts with (or I start noticing when) an awful, pounding headache and nausea with vomiting. That is when I start thinking back to how tired I was all day and how I haven’t been to the bathroom in hours…

FACEPALM!

Web MD lists the symptoms of mild to moderate dehydration as:

• Increased thirst
• Dry mouth and swollen tongue
• Weakness
• Dizziness
• Palpitations (feeling that the heart is jumping or pounding)
• Confusion
• Sluggishness fainting
• Fainting
• Inability to sweat
• Decreased urine output

Urine color may indicate dehydration. If urine is concentrated and deeply yellow or amber, you may be dehydrated.

Call your doctor if the dehydrated person experiences any of the following:

• Increased or constant vomiting for more than a day
• Fever over 101°F
• Diarrhea for more than 2 days
• Weight loss
• Decreased urine production
• Confusion
• Weakness

Take the person to the hospital’s emergency department if these situations occur:

• Fever higher than 103°F
• Confusion
• Sluggishness (lethargy)
• Headache
• Seizures
• Difficulty breathing
• Chest or abdominal pains
• Fainting
• No urine in the last 12 hours

Oops, I’ve never gone to the hospital for it, but my husband and family that are local know how to jump into action when I am down for the count with the flu, a cold or dehydration and usually I have a stock of Gatorade within half an hour of feeling it. I start out with Gatorade and ginger ale (in different glasses) and as that starts to kick in and my headache eases, I continue with fresh fruits (watermelon is the best) and crackers. I usually have to take extra care the next day and not over do it while I deal with a dehydration hangover.

My last episode with dehydration was in May and I have been vigilant about fluids since then. I keep a pitcher of water with lemons in my refrigerator, Gatorade and bottled water are usually within reach so I can grab and go.

Kellymom.com says that nursing moms need about 24 more ounces of water per day than women that aren’t nursing. That is a total of 104 oz per day! Now, this varies depending on the woman,but it is a good starting point. Sometimes “Drinking for thirst” isn’t a good way to monitor (at least not for me) because you don’t always get a chance to have a glass of water whenever you are thirsty.

The best advice I have to give is:

• Keep bottles of water and Gatorade handy.
• Have a pitcher of water in your refrigerator.
• Keep fruits that are easy to eat on hand (grapes, cut up watermelon, apple slices).
• Keep track with how much you are drinking (Waterlogged is a free iPhone app that helps track intake).
• homemade popsicle (spa pop recipe here)

This post isn’t intended to replace medical care and if you feel like you are getting dehydrated you should seek medical help as quickly as possible. Dehydration can turn bad quickly, so drink up… to your health 

Aden + Anais review

When I was pregnant with Izzie, I sent an email to Aden + Anais to ask about getting some samples to try out. They obliged by sending me some samples of their Soothing Ointment and their Hair + Body Wash. I was so excited to try it out that I immediately used them + fell in love!

The soothing ointment has a nice, soft, vanilla scent and is amazing! I use it on my and my daughter’s lips (I am a lip balm snob and this is by far one of my favorites), cuticles, dry skin patches and even on my nipples when they get sore from nursing. If my oldest has an old “boo boo” or a bug bite that is a little rough, I will put it on there to soften it up and soothe it. Zoey LOVES it and asks to use it whenever she sees the container.

The Hair + Body Wash smells so good that I used it more on my own hair than as a baby wash (mom fail)! I did use it on the girls, and it left their skin soft and smelling delicious! I caught myself sniffing them the rest of the day. I have pretty wild and unusual hair that doesn’t react well to some shampoos, but it worked well with this. I was very pleased!

One of my favorite parts of the Mum + Bub line is all the stuff that ISN’T in their products! Mum + Bub is free of parabens, added hormone disrupters, petroleum oils, phthalates, dioxanes from sulfates, gluten and soy, petrochemicals, DEA and artificial colors.

After I fell in love with the Mum + Bub line, I decided to try their swaddle blankets. I went to Target and got a four pack and haven’t used another swaddle blanket since (I even talked a stranger at Target into getting them as a gift for a friend when she was looking at another swaddle blanket). I used them in a photoshoot I did of the girls and, at 6 months old, I still swaddle Izzie in them. Sometimes it’s the only way to get her to sleep. I like them because they are soft, bigger than other swaddle blankets, cute and the fabric has just enough give to get a good snug swaddle. I am able to write this review right now because she is swaddled up taking a nap in her bed (thank you Aden +Anais).

Blended oatmeal cookies

You know those times when you wish you could pop a dozen cookies in the oven and take them to a friend (or devour by yourself after the kids go to bed)? This recipe makes several dozen (approximately 10 dozen)

2 cups butter

24 oz. chocolate chips

4 cups flour

2 cups brown sugar

2 tsp. baking soda 

1 tsp. salt

2 cups sugar

1 8 oz. chocolate bar, grated (I like to use a fancy one)

5 cups blended oatmeal

4 eggs

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups chopped nuts or pretzel bits (optional)

Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder.

Cream the butter and both sugars.

Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda.

Add chocolate chips, grated chocolate bar, and nuts/pretzel bits.

Roll into balls, and either place two inches apart on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or freeze in freezer bags for the next time you need a quick fix.

Cookie Monster approves!

The making of a wet bag!

I made a wet bag for my cloth diapers! I have a small one for the diaper bag that a friend gave me, but I was just using a trash can as a diaper pail and it wasn’t cutting it for us.

I went to my local fabric store and got 1/2 yard of PUL (polyurethane laminate), which is waterproof diaper fabric. I folded the fabric in half lengthwise and folded over the two edges at the top for the drawstring and sewed them up. Then, with the bag inside out, I sewed up the sides (stopping before I got to the drawstring). I turned the bag right side out and threaded the drawstring and VOILA, I had a wet bag!

Sewing down the edges where the drawstring will go.

once both ends are sewn you will fold the fabric in half inside out like above.

Pin in place.

Start at what will be the bottom of the bag and sew toward the top.

Stopping before you get to the drawstring holes.

It should look like the above picture once you’re done sewing.

Now all you have to do is thread the drawstring!

It works great and I love the fabric!

Photographing your children

Meagan here,

I wanted to share a few tips for photographing your baby (and older kids, too).

Lighting-

You don’t need a lot of fancy lighting equipment, just a good sized window! Natural light is the best for pictures of babies and kids. I set up in my living room, right next to a large window.

This image was taken in front of a window without a back drop.

Backdrop-

I have shot in my living room with and without a back drop. My husband made me a backdrop stand out of PVC (he’s pretty handy), but you can also grab some kitchen chairs and drape a cloth or blanket over the backs. The sofa is another option as long as someone is right there to keep baby safe. I usually choose a neutral/basic color, and I like using soft fabric with babies. For the sibling shoot I did for my girls when my youngest was about 6 weeks old, I used a sage green micro fleece blanket, a sheepskin rug, and Aden + Anias muslin blankets.

You can see above that I just set up right next to all the toys in the living room.

Comfort-

Make sure you are in a comfortable environment for the baby. Have it nice and warm where you are shooting, have milk readily available, and keep a paci and toys nearby. Pillows under the bottom of the backdrop for baby to lay on is another great idea. I use my Boppy body pillow, but a bean bag or a regular pillow would work, too.

The above image was taken with baby laying on a soft blanket on top of a body pillow.

Props-

Use things that were yours as a baby, were handmade for baby by friends or family, or just something you really like. Older kids might like to have a favorite toy or blanket.

Employ help-

Having somebody with you to help keep baby calm can be a HUGE help! Another parent or grandparents are usually willing to help with this task. They can also snap a few of YOU with the baby!

Posing-

I like to get some while baby is sleeping and just keep the poses simple. Let them lie on their tummy so that they are facing the camera. Get down on their level to shoot unless you are doing a straight down.

This image was taken on my bed just a few days after she was born. She kept smiling in her sleep, so I grabbed my camera for an impromptu shoot!

A last resort-

If they are awake and you can’t get them to calm down or be still, try a swaddle and shoot from above.

  

Editing-

You may decide to edit your images, and I have to say, less is more with babies. Color correct, brighten, or turn it black and white, but try not to get too fancy because it takes away from the beauty of the child.

HAPPY SNAPPING!