Mother's paranoia

Before you become a mother you hear about "mother's intuition" but nobody tells you about the paranoia you suddenly develop!
I constantly have some awful scenario playing out in my head that would be a mother's worst nightmare! Everything is dangerous. I swear, if I could have my baby girls fitted for protective bubbles tomorrow I would!
I worry about everything and apparently that is normal for a mom. We walk past the pond at the park and in my mind I see Zoey falling in and drowning! I see a shoe in the middle of the floor and I picture myself carrying Izzie and tripping over it and dropping her on her head! I worry about everything and it makes me feel like a crazy person!! I wish someone had warned me about that!


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Brussels sprouts

Before this week, I had never had Brussels sprouts. I always imagined them to be the slimy slugs of the vegetable  world, and I didn't want any part of that! As I've mentioned in previous posts, I’m slowly cutting meat out of my everyday menu, and as a result, I am eating more veggies. I saw a recipe online for “Roasted Brussels Sprouts,” and after a bit of tweaking, I am obsessed with them! I've made them three times since yesterday!

Brussels Sprouts

Here is what you’ll need:
Brussels sprouts
Olive Oil
Black Pepper
Salt
Garlic (garlic powder or fresh minced)
Balsamic Vinegar

 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Cut the sprouts in half lengthwise & put them in a bowl. Then add just enough olive oil to lightly coat them, and give them a little toss to make sure they are all coated nicely. Next, sprinkle with the garlic, salt and pepper, and give it another little toss. Now add about as much balsamic vinegar as you did olive oil, and give it a final toss. Place sprouts flat side down on a non-greased baking sheet (I use my baking stone) and roast 30 minutes (turning them over after 15 minutes).  These are so stinking delicious!

Juicy!

Meagan here, As moms, we all try to make healthy choices when we are pregnant and nursing. I try to make sure my toddler gets lots of fruits and veggies and we try not to let her have a lot of junk. As I mentioned in my intro, I’m semi “granola.” I love killing plants with my brown thumb and even had a nice garden last summer. As much as I would like to garden again this year, I just don’t see that happening with a toddler and a new baby  I’ve derailed… I have been juicing for a while and have recently watched the documentary “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” and I LOVED IT! It got me even MORE excited about juicing. It talks a lot about juice fasts (which I plan to try after I’m done nursing). I also watched one called “Forks Over Knives,” and it really has changed the way I look at food (don’t watch it unless you are ready to give up meat and dairy). I am trying to find ways to cut back on the meat we eat in our house, and being married to a “meat and potatoes” man won’t make that easy. He and I have very different eating habits, and he is going to take some work. But with the girls being so young, I’m hoping it will be easier to teach them about making healthy choices now instead of waiting until they are older and have poor eating habits. My toddler has been helping me at the juicer and really gets excited about it! She asks for juice quite often, and I love giving her juice that doesn’t have added processed sugar and preservatives! This morning she helped me make some with 3 Oranges, 1 carrot, 2 white nectarines and a handful of raspberries… we both sucked it down! It was delicious! We also love Spinach, kale, celery, carrot, cucumber, kiwi and apple juice. It’s green and doesn’t look like it would taste good but it is wonderful! She calls it “Hulk juice” because it’s green and makes you strong like the Hulk. I have a glass of fresh juice in the morning with/for breakfast and usually at least one more glass with lunch or dinner. It’s nice knowing I’m passing nutrients on to the baby in my breast milk. Eventually, I want us to be at least a semi-meat-free home but that will take some time.

A prayer for my children

Most nights I lay in bed and pray for my family. I pray for my husband, for his health and safety. I pray that I am a good wife and mother. I also pray for my girls.

I am laying here tonight and felt the urge to type my prayer out.

God, thank you so much for all the blessings you have given me today. Each laugh and giggle from my precious babies is so beautiful and special. Thank you for their health. Thank you for the bond we share. Thank you for the cuddles I got after doctoring a hurt finger today. I hold those moments so dear to my heart.

Lord, please continue to bless us with health and happiness. We may not have much in earthly possessions but we are truly a happy family! Dancing to oldies and making play dough are memories I hope to have forever.

Help me to raise my girls to love you and respect you by respecting themselves. Help them to be shining examples for you.

Help their father and I to be great parents. Help us to love one another more and more every day. Help them to see the love we have for each other and know that it takes love, commitment and work to make a marriage last (Help us remember that too).

Help me to be like my mother, someone my children can come to with anything because they know I will help them and love them no matter what. Thank you for the example I had with my mother (and grandmother).

Thank you for all that you have given me, Lord. You knew my heart’s desires better than I did. Being a mother is something I wasn’t sure I wanted to be until it happened and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Thank you.

Amen 

Oh the guilt!

Let’s talk about guilt shall we?

Sometimes as a mom we experience what I like to call “Mom guilt”. I experience this when I am feeding my 3 month old and my older daughter (almost two) is crying for me to come play with her or when I put little sister in her Rock n Play and big sister in her high chair so I can run to the bathroom while they both scream their heads off. Mom guilt comes a lot more often now that I have two daughters to split my time with. I have a laundry list of things that need to get done around the house that never seems to be empty and I find myself staying up late so I can fold laundry and unload the dishwasher.

I have friends that either don’t have kids, just have one or have older children and either don’t know or don’t remember how busy a mom with a new baby AND a toddler really is! I don’t always have time to call and text like I use to. I feel so isolated sometimes. Friends will say “I never hear from you anymore” and I apologize but a little part of me is thinking “I don’t hear from you much either”. I feel like a bad friend because I can’t keep up with everyone like I want to and so now I have “Friend guilt” too.

It’s hard to get out of the house with two girls under the age of two. We have different nap times and somebody is almost always hungry. Friends want to go to the mall or to lunch and I want so badly to go and spend time with people my own age but I just can’t. A girlfriend came by to hang out a few days before my birthday because a sick 22 month old kept me home when we were supposed to have a fun birthday lunch with friends. It was so nice to have a friend over! My house was a mess and I hadn’t showered all day but I didn’t feel judged at all. IT. WAS. BLISS. I had felt so awful for having to cancel my lunch plans and was so disappointed to miss out on girl time so it meant a lot to have her come to me!

I’m just having a hard time meeting everyone else’s needs and still finding time to eat and sleep. Sometimes I get overwhelmed when I’ve been doing things for everyone else all day (laundry, dishes, errands and such) and I have a toddler begging for cookies right before dinner and a baby crying to be nursed while I’m trying to get dinner ready. I feel like I’m losing my mind at times!

I don’t want a break from my kids or my husband, I want a break from cooking, cleaning and everything else. I want a personal assistant, a maid and a chef please! 

If you have a friend with a new(ish) baby and she hasn’t called in a while, give her a call and tell her you love her. Offer to bring lunch and a chick flick over one day and let her know you still love her (even though she may not currently be nurturing your friendship like she used to).

Food for thought

What mom really has a lot of time to cook? I know I don’t! I have to say that I use the heck out of my crock pot! I use it at least twice a week! Making roast, enchilada filling, BBQ chicken, soup, chili and many other delicious things! Tonight I am going to share a couple of recipes. Also, do yourself a HUGE favor and get crock pot liners!! LIFE SAVERS!!!

This first recipe is for Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup. This one is a favorite in our house!

You’ll need:

1 Box Chicken or veggie Broth or Stock

4 Ounces of Sour Cream

1 Cup chopped celery

1 Cup shredded carrots

2 Cup Milk (or Heavy Cream)

2 or 3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Noodles of your choice (I use Egg Noodles)

Salt, garlic and poultry seasoning to taste

I season the chicken with poultry seasoning, garlic and salt and put it in the crock pot with the broth, carrots and celery. I let that cook in the crockpot on high for 6 hours and then I shred the chicken, add the sour cream, milk and noodles… I cook the noodles before I add them to the soup but you can add a little more liquid to the soup and then put in the dry noodles to cook for the last hour (you can also use canned biscuits cut into quarters instead of noodles and have dumplings!).

The next recipe is another one made up and have played with over the years… Enchilada filling!

I get the biggest can of red enchilada sauce they have, a can or black beans, a can of diced tomato and 2 or 3 chicken breasts and cook it on high for about 6 hours or low for 8. Shred the chicken, use a slotted spoon to drain sauce off the filing and roll up in tortillas, use the remaining juice and goody to pour over the top, cover with cheese and bake at 350 until cheese is melty (about 10-15 min).

My last recipe isn’t crock pot but is sooooo yummy!!! Iron skillet cookie!!

You’ll need:

1 Stick Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
1-1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet on med heat on the stove, add both sugars and the vanilla and remove from heat. Let stand about 5 minutes and then add the egg to the butter and sugar mixture (you want to wait the 5 min so the egg won’t cook in the skillet before you add all your ingredients), whisk it well into the butter and sugar. next you’ll add your flour, baking soda, and salt, and (very carefully) stir until smooth and well-mixed. Lastly, stir in chocolate chips. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, or until starting to turn golden on the top and around the edges, but soft in the center.

I made this cookie tonight after dinner and there wasn’t a bite left! It’s really good with caramel ice cream on top.

Happy eating!

Agree to disagree

After a discussion with a fellow mom the other day I felt the need to step on a soap box for a moment…

Nobody is going to do things exactly the same way you do them. We all raise our children differently. There is nothing wrong with breast feeding or bottle feeding, cloth or disposable diapers, circumcision or no circumcision, making baby food or buying it, daycare or no daycare, turning your car seat around at the minimum requirements or waiting a little longer or even having your daughter’s ears pierced as a baby or waiting until she asks for them. As long as our children are growing and are loved, what is the big dang deal?

We all make decisions for our children hoping they are the right ones but chances are we will all make some wrong decisions. Zoey (almost 2) drank a little Dr. Pepper yesterday, this is a rare treat in our house, but it kept her awake half the night! Parenting FAIL!

I am a semi stay at home mom (I work 2-3 days a week) and I am fortunate enough to have family that keep my girls for me while I am at work. I am so thankful for that because a good daycare is really pricey! I wish I could stay at home with my girls all the time but that is MY preference and I surely don’t look down on moms with a different preference! Some moms have to go back to work and have to put their children in daycare while other moms chose to go back to work so that can provide more for their children and show them what a working mom looks like. These are all fine options!

I chose to breast feed my girls and I am so lucky that I CAN! I make enough to feed my baby (and even donate to a few moms and babies that wanted breast milk) and both girls had a great latch from the start! Some moms chose not to due to medication or preference while other moms try but have supply issues or baby just won’t latch. Formula isn’t poison.

With my first I had a mild PPD and for a while I thought I was just sad for no reason because I had a strong connection to my baby but I was so miserable if I didn’t have her with me (not just “oh I miss my baby”). That made going back to work full time really hard! Some moms have different forms of PPD and others are lucky enough to never have it at all! It isn’t my fault that I had PPD and if you are dealing with it, it’s not your fault either! Call your doctor and talk to some girlfriends that have dealt with it before. Maybe you can help someone that is dealing with it now if you have dealt with it in the past.

My point is, we all have different circumstances and do things differently but that doesn’t mean that my way is right and your way is wrong. Who am I to judge what another person does? We are all doing our best and rather than tearing each other down for things they do differently why not build each other up? As moms we have enough “mom guilt” on our own without things like the “iphone mom” post that circulated all over facebook a few weeks back. You’re doing the best you can and that is all anyone SHOULD expect from you! Remember, friends may come and go but your children will be in your life forever. Do what is best for them, love them and protect them as best you can because as they grow they will become our closest friends.