Beco Butterfly II

Brooke is now getting to the point where she's heavy enogh that she's starting to hurt my back in the carriers we already have - Hot Sling, SweetPea Ring Sling, HautePocket, and our LoveyDuds wrap (WAHM Moby). BUT I still need to carry her in something. She's not really old enough to sit in the carts at the store (and quite frankly, I'm not sure I want her in it anyway with all this H1N1 crap going around) yet I NEED two (okay well maybe 3 or 4) hands to keep tabs on Luke. So I've been looking for a new carrier that will last us quite some time. I've also been looking for something that my mom could easily throw on during the day and something that ::gasp:: Todd might even try to wear. This was not a small task! Here are some of the benefits of a Beco Butterfly in case you are unfamiliar with them:

* Comfortably fits users from under 5’ to over 6’ - I'm 5'4 and it's very comfortable and fits great. It adjusts great so it fits my husband excellent as well.

* Newborn to toddler up to 45 lbs - Excellent built in infant insert for little ones. I tried it on a doll (since my daughter is 14 months already) and it worked great. I also tried this on my son who is about 35 pounds and I was literally amazed at how well he fit and comfortable it was to carry him.* Ergonomically curved shoulder straps - The shoulder straps were great, adjustable and padded which made it very comfortable.

* New redesigned body style - The designs are absolutely the cutests things ever. The body style fits your baby great with no cutting of the legs.

* Inside panel enables to pass baby front one parent to another - I love this, it's so easy to get on and off, just like putting a backpack on with a baby and it is very, very easy to pass back and forth without worrying she's going to fall out.

* Easy and safe front and back carry - I wear this mostly on the back because my daughter likes to face out a lot and this lets her be up high and in the action. Both ways are easy to get on and with the buckles around your waist and one just beneath your collar bone, you know your baby is secure.

* Lightweight and Stylish - Very lightweight, but a little big for just stuffing in your diaper bag. This is very good for extended wearing, for walks, hiking, etc.

* Hands free nursing - A MUST and yes it works great!

Well after driving almost 2 hours to a store in Columbus called Sprout Soup, I tried on the Beco I'd read so much about and LOVE it! It's everything I've been asking for all wrapped up in one. But okay, I feel bad for saying this, but I just KNEW I could find it online cheaper. I'm all about small businesses, and I do understand they need to mark things up, but sorry, someone else can pay the mark up, I look for deals! Anyway, a deal I did find. Be sure to check out BabySNAZZ. With coupon code flipflop5 you get 5% bringing the price down to $132.05. Plus, they offer free shipping on orders over $75. Then, as if that isn't enough, they also have a 10% back rewards program. So I should expect $13.20 in store credit coming my way! I've got my eyes on some of those super cute baby legs in their clearence section! ;P

Anyway....if anyone is looking for a new carrier, I HIGHLY suggest buying the Beco Butterfly II from BabySNAZZ!

In other news...

Of course our biggest news is the newest member of our family. Meet Harry. Yes, Luke has started naming Todd's lawnmowers. Haha! We have NO idea where he comes up with this stuff or where the heck he heard the name Harry, but whatever, the laughing is good for our health right? Anyway, Todd made yet another "risky" mower purchase. One of these times I'm convinced he's going to get burned but he's now 2 for 2 on Ebay. He paid WAY below market value and got it for only $4800. Now I know.....$4800 for a mower seems like an awful lot, and it's sad to say that this is just one of 15 other mowers, but he's gotten to the point where mowers are like shoes with me. You buy a new one, you must get rid of an old one. So the one he got rid of he had used for over 3 years, and although he took very good care of it and it'll last someone many years to come, he still got $2,000 for it! Craziness in my opinion! Anyway, Harry, meet my friends!

Now onto something people more normal than us might care about, my sewing skills are getting better and better with each project. Yes, I'm still in the beginning project stages, but still, they are finally starting to look like they were done by someone who knows what they are doing. I'm really proud of myself for sticking with this and finding time to dedicate to it. Normally, I'll get real into learning something, make an investment in all the stuff needed for it and then a week or two into it, I'll just give up, espeially anything that requires creativity, since I basically have none of it. Haha!

Anyway, this is another fleece soaker I made for Brooke for under $2. These are working great at night over Brooke's diaper just in case there is a small leak. I made the size up so she could grow into it, but it's working great even now.

And this is my first attempt at a cloth wipe. I kept reading up about how to make them and they seemed so easy, but there was several options and tons of different materials you could use to make them. I ended up buying OBV (organic bamboo velour), some terry cloth, and flannel. Then there is single layer wipes where you just cut and stitch around the edge. There is a double layer where you just put two layers together and stitch around the edge. Or, the third option is a T&T wipe (which I believe stands for turned and top stitched). Basically you sew wrong sides out and leave a little gap. Then you turn the wipe right side out an do a decorative stitch around the edge. I decided I thought I could try option 3 and it tuned out perfect. I'm glad I went the extra mile as it turned out really well.

Halloween was a howlin' good time!

We had a really great Halloween night. This is the first one since we've "been on our own" that was on a weekend. Normally we're rushing home from work, figuring out that we forgot to get candy or forgot to carve pumpkins and then afterwards it's a mad dash to get to sleep because the daily grind starts again the next day. Plus, the past two years since we've had Luke, it's been down right miserable and especially cold. So not only was the night perfect, but the temperature was perfect too. I doubt we'll get a Halloween this nice again until the kids are graduated from high school. Haha! Isn't that funny to think about.

Anyway, Saturday afternoon after Todd got home from work, we started carving pumkins. We had picked up 5 pumpkins along the way and somehow only paid for one of them. We never made it to the pumpkin patch to pick our own, but it's top on our list next year. Anyway, the one pumpkin we did by was the enourmous one from Sam's Club. I HAD to have it because I'd always dreamed of putting one of my kids in a carved pumpkin. When I saw them at Sams for $8 I jumped for joy, quite literally. ;P

Anyway, here is Brooke posing for her pictures in her pumpkin....she's getting SO big but she still wasn't happy sitting in a giant, cold, damp pumpkin. She's a trooper though!

After that, Todd tore into carving it. Luke's ben real obsessed with the movie Monster's Inc. right now, or "Inky" as he calls it. He LOVES talking about "scary guy." So when Todd decided to make Mike from the movie, I thought it was not only way out of his reach, but a really cool idea. It turned out pretty good with the help of a few toothpicks, haha!

And a picture of the pumpkin all lit up. It was the talk of the neighborhood.....everyone was saying ti was the best of the night! Haha!

Then the picture of the kids in their costumes. Is it sad that this is the best one I have? Luke's new thing is "rubbing bellies mommy." He LOVES rubbing him and Brooke's bellies together and she just thinks it's about the funniest thing in the world. And if you can't tell what they are, Brooke was a bumblebee and uke was an Indian. I was feeling unmotivated this year so store bought costumes all the way! Go me!

This picture pretty much explains how our entire night went. Luke ran from house to house yelling "I need more." Glad I've done well teaching my child manners. Actualy though, it was a great opportunity. I wouldn't let him leave a single house without saying thank you and he did a spectacular job. We managed to make it through about 3 blocks in 2 hours.....how that for a world record? Just kidding! He enjoyed running house to house, ut he'd also sit right down on people driveway and start counting all his pieces. Haha! What a site to see.


Anyway, I hope everyone had as wonderful of a Halloween night as we did! And shockingly enough.....what does this mean? Holy crapola....I'm hosting Thanksgiving in less than 1 month....AHHHH!

New Family Pictures...

Here is a preview of our fall family pictures - http://alisonandoliver.blogspot.com/2009/10/todd-andrea-luke-brooke.html

I once again super shocked that there was any good pictures at all. Since Luke's been about a year old, and basically not sitting still for 10 seconds, I have no idea how anyone captures pictures of our family at all. And then to throw our baby Brooke in the mix just makes it all that more interesting!

The first day of our shoot ended up getting rained out. It started out just cloudy and sprinkling. We braved through it and got the chair/field shots and then went to a giant sunflower patch b our house before it started to really pour. We rescheduled for three weeks later and thankfully it worked out pretty good. The leaves had begun to change and the day was beautiful, but chilly and windy. Brooke was not real happy about it, but she did great! Luke didn't get his nap that day either. Can you tell? Anyone hope everyone enjoys them as much as we do!

Plus, the highlight of the shoot was actuall finding out some super information about our photographer that I had been praying about nightly. I even bought her a little something already because I couldn't contain my excitement! ;P Yeah....

Feeling accomplished!

It's almost bedtime and I just had to come blog about my day, I just feel so accomplished, like the old me. I did take a half day off work today since I apparently slept wrong last night and needed some heating pad time and lots of Mortin, but still. I woke up as usual at 5am with the babe. I'm not complaining considering she's zonked out by 7pm....hoping she'll last anymore than 5am is wishful. So I get her her bottle and of course uke just somehow knows we're up and comes right in asking to watch "Inky, Inky mama" (aka - Monster's Inc.).


Anway, I'll spare you the rest of the lame details of my day and get to the good stuff. So basically, I was super bus at work this morning, but hunchd over my keyboard at work was just not working for me. So I headed home at lunch time, took some Motrin, laid on the heating pad and took a little nappers.

I was feeling better so I thought I'd run some quick errands before starting dinner. In less than an hour, I dropped off my WAY overdue dry cleaning (I'm pretty sure I'm going to wear the same pair of black pants three days in a row), dropped by the grocery for Halloween candy ($1.48 a package - score!), and got some lost books taken care of at the library. Funny how I found them on their shelve huh?

Then I came home and made this delicious salmon dinner. Normall, I try to make fish about once a month. Really, it's all we can handle. I've tried recipe after recipe and we just eat it because I made it but you can tell no one likes it, incuding me. I saw reviews for this recipe saying it didn't taste fish, some said they hated fish but loved this recipe, etc. So I figured, well salmon is only $3.99/lb for fresh wild caught salmon, so why not give it a shot. OH MY GOSH! Wonderful! Of course allrecipes.com is down right now (go figure), but it's called Baked Salmon II I believe. I'll come back and edit this post with the recipe. I just paired it up with some white rice (with the marinade poured over it) and grilled broccoli. Even Luke ate every single bite and kept saying "mmm, mommy, mmmm."



We also decided to start Brooke on her solids tonight. I had made that butternut squash this weekend and there was about two servings that wouldn't fit in an ice cube tray. She ended up LOVING it and being totally read for it. She did great!


She also enjoyed plaing with her "spoon" afterwards too. I picked a few of these up at Target when Luke was starting solids and they work great. It's a little gross to me to let them use our finger like a lot of the books suggest, but this is very similar. Hopefully I can find some more at the store since I can only locate two of them in our house. I'm sure the'll pop up sometime when she's around a year. Hehe! So much for my super organized pre-kid self huh?

And here ou can tell just how happ she was about her first experience with solids. =)

After dinner I had my last table decor sewing class at JoAnne's. I honestly thought about not even going to the second class. I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out (the front of the pattern looked really ugly) and I had some major issues in the first class with getting the wrong fabric, not knowing how to use the machine at the store, etc. BUT, I paid for the class, I was going to go. So in I went and not only finished my first placemat, but also finished a second one in a little over an hour as well. YEAH! It's amazing what nice fabric really does for something. Goes from looking like something grandma made to something hip. Oka, so maybe hip people don't sew placemats, but hip moms do right? Can I at least be a hip mom?

Oddly enough, while I was in my class, our local Kroger store had trick or treating for the kids and a big sale. Of course I'd already told him we got plenty of candy, but of course he thought he needed an extra 10 bags for whatever reason. He also decided he needed enough carmel apples and frosted brownies to feed an army. The kids got ANOTHER huge bag of candy too. Seriously, we now have three giant bags of candy from three different Halloween events and trick or treat isn't until Saturday! Gesh people!

All in all, I can say we had a pretty exciting day. Hard to believe it's onl Tuesday.

Finally feeling like myself...

I don't know if it's Brooke sleeping through the night, the change of the season, or the fact that I basically "got a week off" since I went to Chicago for business last week, but I'm feeling more like myself again. Regardless, we've had a super busy weekend, full of all kinds of Halloween festivities.

First, Friday afternoon was my office kid's Halloween party. Last year I was basically in charge of the entire thing by myself, so I didn't get to enjoy it with Luke. This year I told them I'd help before hand, but I was enjoying it. And enjoy we did. Luke's favorite parts were of course the eating (cookies galore!) and trick or treating around the cubicles in the office. Everyone goes all out decorating and it really gets spooky. Luke is still talking about all of the "scary guys" as he says.

Then I started making Brooke's baby food. Can you believe she's 5 months already?!?!? Where has the time gone? I still plan on starting her on bananas, avacado, and brown rice cereal, but butternut and acorn squash were on sale this week so I decided to freeze some of it into cubes too. Just chop the squash in half, la in a baking dish with 1=2" of water and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

Then scoop out of all the "meat" and place in a food processor or blender. Then add a little bit of the water that the squash cooked in. Roasting squash as I've read retains the most amount of nutrients and adding the water which it roasted in adds back some of those nutrients.

Then process and spoon into ice cube trays. Cover with seran wrap, freeze, and then pop them out and play in freezer bags. Be sure to label what it in the bag and the date you made it. Butternnut squash looks and auwful ot like carrots and sweet potatoes and acorn squash looks a lot like pears and applesauce. =)

Then toss the skins into the compost pile. Did I mention Todd put a compost pile together for me??? I can't WAIT to start a garden next spring!!!

Then,take the flesh that you scooped out at the beginning, put it in a strainer to seperate out the seeds. Then toss the seed in olive oil and kosher salt. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 min! I also saved a few before cooking to plant next year. =)

Then we had our neighborhood annua Children's Halloween Party in the Park! This is our third time going and thie first one where the weather has actually been decent and we didn't have to come home after 20 minutes because we could no longer feel our toes. =)

Anway, it all starts off with a police escorted "parade" from in front of our house down to the park. Of course the kids get a big kick out of this.

Then they have the custome contest. Luke won 1st place last year for his "duct tape" costume. This year Brooke won in her $2 Walmart bee costume. I'm sure it didn't hurt that she smiled the entire time we stood in line...

There was also a chili cook off forthe adults. I submitted Rachel Ray's Tex Mex Corn Chip Chili. It was okay, but didn't win. There was some tough competition though.

Then there are tons of games for the kids to play. We could not get him away from bean bag game. He NEEDED another set of dracula teeth. =) That's his new thing b the way....everthing is "but mom, I NEED it!"

And Luke's other favorite thing was the hayride. It's nothing big, just a neighbor who takes his "tractor" (aka riding mower) through the "haunted woods" (aka the tiny patch of woods with a couple older neighborhood kids that jump out with masks).

Oh and the other boys in the picture are our new neighbors. They are such well beahved boys and take Luke under their wing just like another brother. We're been really blessed with great neighbors and getting to know them better and better has been great.

Time for bed, hope everyone had as wonderful of a weekend as we did!

6 Meals in a snap!

***This blog post will not have any pictures.....I have a stupid virus I can't get rid of and it won't let me attach pictures....booo! But I promise, everything was delicious!****

So I haven't posted in quite some time. I have to be frank in saying that we have been having some probems at home. Everytime I "think" I understand why they call it the terrible twos, it gets worse. We love our little guy to death, but I swear he just is like the energizer bunny and keeps going and going and going. I do not look forward to eating any meas with him anymore and I feel horrible for saying that. Every night is a struggle. It's an absolute war (or should I say carnival, since we have to make up about 4 different games to get him to eat 10 bites) to get him to eat anything and I'm not sure it does any good because during that time he's probably burned twice as many calories. He's up on the table, he's hanging from the chair, he's crawling under the chair, he's everywhere. The upside to all this.....well I guess I'm still losing weight because I have no time to eat! J/K! I'm still glad we eat dinner every night as a family, but still, when does it start getting better. When do we not have to stop mid-bite every two seconds to tell him to sit down, stop spitting out your food, stop feeding the dog, stop this and that. I feel like the worst mom in the world.

Weekends, yeah, well, they aren't much better either. I get just about nothing done except the family room and basement picked up every 10 minutes and by the time I'm done I start all over.

On a lighter note, I'm trying to streamline things as much as possible. I keep telling myself Luke's behavior problems are because Todd and I work and so he does these things for attention. I know I'm probably beating myself up more than I should, but regardless, I continue on. Anyway, so I came up with this awesome little three night supper/lunch plan. As long as you don't mind having chicken for lunch and dinner three days in a row, hopefully you'll love this as much as we have! (You could also probably freeze the chicken and use at a later date to space out these meals if you think 3 days of chicken is a little overkill).

Anyway, I started out on Sunday morning marinating the chicken breast. I used my new favorite meat marinade I posted about a few weeks ago. In case you forget, here it is again:

1 1/2 cups vegtable oil
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 Worcestershire sauce
1/2 red wine vinegar
1/3 lemon juice
2 Tbsp dry mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp fresh minced parsley

Just shake everything up in a jar and use as you need. For this recipe, I only used about half of the marinade for all the chicken.

Then Sunday night Todd grilled the chicken breasts and I served with some simple baked potatoes with butter, fresh chives from our herb garden, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. We had brownie sundeas with it for dessert. The remaining 5 chicken breast were packaged up and put in the refridgerator.

The next day for lunch I made chicken cesar wraps for both of us for lunch. I got some tomatoe basil tortilla/sandwich wraps on the manager's special rack for only $.99! I used those, tore apart 1/2 a chicken breast for each wrap, tore up a few leaves of Romaine lettuce, sprinkled with a little parmesean cheese, and put a little Ceasar dressing down the middle. Todd and I both thought it was delicious.

Monday night for dinner was Chicken Pasta Primavera. I actually got this recipe from http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/09/pasta-primavera-2.html so go on over and check that recipe out.

Then for lunch on Tuesday I split another chicken breast and tore it up into a tortilla wrap. This time I made chicken cobb salad wraps though. A little bit of mayo, colby cheese, lettuce, chicken, tomatoe, and avacado. Todd added some ranch to his. Again, they were delicious, quick, cheap and easy.

Tonight for dinner was chicken pesto pasta. I just made this up with what we had on hand. I again tore a leftover chicken breast into pieces and tossed it in a skillet with some olive oil and garlic. I sauteed that until it got warm and then turned the burner to low. I added 1 and 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup parmesean cheese, 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, and 1/2 prepared pesto. Meanwhile I cooked a 16 oz box of pasta to al dente. At this point I drainedit and tossed it in with te chicken and sauce. I served with a simple side of garlic bread.

Tomorrow for lunch we will be splitting up our last leftover chicken breast. We both loved the Ceasar wraps so much we're going yo do those again. We tossed around the idea of making it into BBQ chicken wraps, but maybe another time perhaps.