Kid stuff

I have a kid. She is smart, funny, beautiful and very independent. Here she is at her first birthday party:

She's awesome! We have a lot of fun together! And then there are moments when I could really use a drink, a smoke, and a good hour or 2 of girltalk to recover=0 My friend has mentioned, suggested and almost kicked me in the behind to get me to blog about being a mom. She seems to think I have good ideas about how to do things that make life more efficient and less stressful. So, here you go. I'll add to the list in subsequent posts, but here are my most recent/favorite tips: I clean my house when Sierra is sleeping. I do the parts of the house that she'll be as soon as she wakes up, first. That way if she does wake up, I can put her there and let her play while I keep working. I start in our kitchen because it's easy. I start with whatever dishes need to be done, then counters, then floor. That way if I get water on the floor while doing dishes, the spots are cleaned up when I wash it. I then go to our dining/living room. Vacuum the rug, dust, wet mop to get the spilled juice and drool cleaned up. I use a hand held vacuum on our hardwood stairs, then go upstairs to keep working. If Sierra wakes up, I make sure all of the gates downstairs are closed, she has a beverage, and I go back to work checking on her every few minutes. Then it's on to the bathrooms. Mirrors first, then counters and sinks (I use the Kirkland cleaning clothes from costco simply because I haven't figured out a great way to use my washcloths and have it be quick). Then toilets. Wet mop the floor. Vacuum the rugs in the bedrooms except Sierra's. Sweep the wood, wet mop, then go downstairs until everything is dry. When Sierra was first beginning to eat solid foods, I love LOVE LOVE the baby food that comes in pouches. We used it a lot when we were on the go. We had little spoons that screwed on the end of the pouch to squeeze the food out to feed the baby. Eventually, she learned she could just suck it out, and the spoons were no longer necessary. Another thing that I figured out was that I could use a spoon to "cut" a hole in the top of an avocado. Then I used her spoon to scoop it out and feed it to her. It was a self-contained protein source for her and super easy clean up for me! I just threw it away. I also did something similar with bananas. When we were home, I would give her food I had made and frozen. I used breast milk bags to store it. They thawed out in 2-4 minutes in warm water. I learned that if I roasted sweet potatoes, squash, apples, pears, in the oven, that their natural juices would come out and they would be more appetizing to the baby because they were a little sweeter. I labeled each bag with a sharpie, with what it was, how much was in it, and when it was made. I used a 2 oz scoop as a measuring device. It worked great! Our "big" freezer in the garage was much colder than our fridge freezer, so the food was more completely frozen quicker and lasted longer. I also use the 4 oz gladware small bowls all of the time. They're great and very versatile! I put snacks in them, use them as a rattle with crackers/beans/pasta, put prizes inside of a papertowel and have Sierra look for it, etc. She likes to put things in them and take them out right now. We traveled a lot when Sierra was small. I would take one bag for Sierra. In her bag I kept: 2 pouches of food, a disposable bib, a blankie, 3-5 toys on a "string" so that if they fell while on the plane (I just had to pick up the string and collect them all), at least 4 diapers, at least 1 small container of wipes, 3 pacifiers when she would take them, and my nursing cover (I made my own nursing cover from an idea I saw once. You can purchase them here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TulipBabies). Eventually we invested in a bag to put the car seat in when I checked it on the plane. It tore quickly, however I still use it. It has backpack straps and wheels which are invaluable when moving a baby, stroller, luggage, and diaper bag by yourself. I also kept a back up blankie in my luggage on the off chance that we may lose or get the other one dirty. We recently had a birthday party for Sierra. In an effort to keep the party quick and serve several people at once, I took my handy scoop from the food measuring and used it to dip ice cream into cupcake wrappers. I would recommend using 2 wrappers per cup inside a muffin tin, it keeps them from sticking to the bottom of the tin and keeps them cleaner. Then use a clean wrapper on top to keep it from fusing together with other scoops once they're refrozen and being transported. To transport the ice cream we got a small bag of dry ice from our local grocer. It kept 1/2 gallon of ice cream scoops frozen for 4 hours. The guests were all very impressed that the ice cream held up and that they could eat it right from the paper too. No muss no fuss! Those are the ones I can remember right now. There are more, I will add more as I remember.

Winds of change

As a couple we have decided to adopt the Food Addicts Anonymous food plan. Sierra will continue to eat whatever is healthy and nutritious for her. In an effort to reduce our consumption of "less than healthy" foods we did a clean sweep of our cabinets, refrigerator, freezer, hiding places and stashes. We gave away at least 17 bags of groceries. The only gluten in our house is in Sierra's cupboard. The Abstinent Food Plan, as directed by Food Addicts Anonymous (www.foodaddictsanonymous.org) has truly changed our habits, cravings and bodies. We started the week of June 17. Both my husband and I have each lost over 15 lbs to date. He's lost more than I have, however I'm not 100% sure what his tally is as of right now. We are both very clear that this is a lifestyle change. We both have noticed that if we eat something that contains wheat, gluten, sugar, etc. (BIG no no's) that we feel sluggish, and want junk food. I had a trip for work to Dallas for 3 days. While traveling, by myself for the first time, I indulged myself. Alcohol, bread, fast food, caffeine, soda, and Mrs. Baird's fried pies... Delicious! By the time I got home I could barely keep my eyes open. For the next 2 days I was sluggish and my drive to do anything was gone. I took naps each day and barely felt like I had rested. By day 3 of being home, I walked 4.5 miles, cleaned our 3 bedroom/2 level town home from top to bottom, took care of our 14 month daughter and then went to water aerobics for an hour that night. Yeah, the energy was back and it felt GREAT! I am a woman who was diagnosed with PCOS (poly cystic ovarian syndrome) in 2001. The FAA food plan fits within the guidelines for a woman with PCOS, allowing my body to function at it's peak rather than slugging through the sludge that clogs up my metabolism like gluten, caffeine, sugar, alcohol, and junk food. I have created some recipes in my own strange little brain that fit within the guidelines that we have deduced work for us. The FAA food plan does not include a few of the ingredients that are listed in my recipes. The reason is that we have experimented with the ingredients and have determined that they are not "triggers" for us, they don't cause us to want to go binge on a whole box of ice cream sandwiches, which I've done. I'm not proud of it, but there you go. Here are some pictures of the meals we eat:

Grilled Chicken thighs, broccoli, corn, tomato/red onion salad

Polenta, caramelized onions with mushrooms, grilled chicken breast

Our version of a "burrito bowl" from Chipotle Spinach, Butter lettuce, black beans, brown rice, salsa, left over steak, guacamole (I also added yogurt after the picture was taken)

Our standard salad: Lettuce, spinach, red onions, tomatoes, bleu cheese, avocado and Newman's Own Oil and Vinegar dressing Baked sweet potato (done in saran wrap in the microwave!), grilled chicken thighs, broccoli and decaf herbal tea

Our standard salad as before Hamburger, caramelized onions, bleu cheese, wrapped in lettuce

This is grilled pork country ribs, sweet potatoes and broccoli

Breakfast! Decaf coffee with milk, water, eggs over medium, baked oatmeal and blueberries

Shrimp tacos! Crunch taco shells, sauteed shrimp, caramelized onions and salsa I did add guacamole and yogurt after the picture was taken, but it wasn't as pretty to photograph

Standard Salad Corn on the cob, steak and green beans

Standard Salad Brown rice, broiled zucchini with parmesan, grilled chicken breast

Decaf coffee with milk, water, eggs over medium, blueberries and puffed corn

Standard Salad "Fried" chicken, brown rice, orange glazed carrots

Closer pic of our Standard Salad

Steak, mashed potatoes and grilled baby squash

My favorite salad: avocados, mozzarella, tomatoes, red onions and Newman's Own Oil & Vinegar dressing Grilled Chicken, brown rice and carrots

Standard Salad Steak, brown rice, broiled asparagus

Orange glazed carrots, broiled new potatoes, tri tip roast We shop in bulk, so many of the meals feature the ingredients we had on hand at the time. We obviously eat a lot of red meat. We're working on adding in more poultry and fish, however we really LIKE red meat, so it's a splurge for us. If you're interested in recipes, please express your request in the comments below.