Baby Food Making 101: I Freaking Did it!

sI’ve already cooked more these first three weeks of the year than I did all last year combined.

Before this week I had never bought a squash or a pot roast before. But I bought and made both last night.

This is a big accomplishment for me. HUGE. I am conquering my fear of the kitchen.

How?

Well, a few ways. For one, I dusted off a fabulous wedding gift--My crock-pot--And put it to use.

I also owe part of my thanks to my iPhone. I downloaded the All Recipies app so I could have all of my recipes on my phone with shopping lists etc etc, plus get ideas because I’m not one of those people who can just look in my cabinet and know what it can make (but last I checked there weren’t recipes including Cheetos, Twizzlers, cereal and rice anyway).

The extremely daunting part of cooking for me is finding the ingredients at the store, so I emailed screen shots of the shopping list to my husband (who now also has an iPhone) so he could grocery shop with our daughter while I was at work, and I could cook it in my crock pot the next morning. This was how I cooked last week. I made chicken, and beef stew.

One thing he couldn’t find on the list was the top sirloin pot roast, so I looked for it at the store a couple of days ago. I had to phone a friend (aka my mother in law), to figure out which kind I wanted and decided on the rump roast.

Then I headed over to the produce isle. I wanted to buy a squash because my daughter loves the NuturMe squash I bought plus I just got this in the mail, and my friend gave me this book as a baby shower gift, so I wanted to try to make baby food myself dangit!

I didn’t see an organic option for squash so I went with the non-organic in hopes that it’s not so bad. Organic baby food or homemade puree? I’m not sure which is better. I'm hoping the latter since I'm going through all of this effort!

Did you know squash is a dang big vegetable? I didn’t. Each looked like they could feed her for a year. It was a dollar something a pound and the small one I picked was nearly three pounds so it cost us about four bucks. It had better last awhile. I thought to myself as we rang it all up.

After putting the pot roast dinner in the crock-pot and getting Lil’ J down for a nap I got to work on her squash. The directions that came with my baby food processer recommend making 1/3 the squash, so I chopped up a third of it, realized I need to peel it too, so I chopped the ends off. Then I put it in the processor, pushed the steam and blend button and let it do the rest of the work. But what do I do with the rest of the squash?

I was going to wrap it in foil and stick it in the fridge but then I realized it would probably save me a lot of time if I just made it all at the same time (am I smart or what?). I posed the question on twitter and got several ideas for how to cook the rest. One mom suggested an easy oven steam recipe.

I cut the squash in half long ways (and discovered a pumpkin-looking inside, who knew?!) scooped the seeds out, then placed it in a glass pan and filled it with water (I flipped it over after this picture).

Put it in the over at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

When it came out it was super soft. For about 2/3 of it I scooped it out and pureed it, and put it in ice cube trays to freeze for later (I've heard you can reheat it easily by warming it with water, breastmilk or just in the microwave). 

The other 3rd I sliced up, peeled off the skin, and set it aside for dinnertime and future meals where she may want to feed herself or what many people call "baby lead weaning" but I just call "feed your dang self."

I mentioned before trying a bit of this method as well as and purees, and tonight I let her eat the squash I had steamed and cut while we ate pot roast. She seems to like it (and broccoli we were eating). She sits on the table for now cause she doesn't have a high chair yet but I'm thinking of getting one of these space saver chairs for her from CSN.

And me? I feel like a Domestic Goddess! (Remember, I made pot roast too... I'm seriously on a roll).

I just bought my first sweet potato and I'm going to go at it again!

Little Ms. Claus Dress: What I'm Makin' Monday

Monday is almost over, but I figured it's better I post it today than next Monday when it's WAY after Christmas! I'm so proud of my creation!

I can't take all of the crecit cause I got an idea to make a dress like this after seeing a similar one by my friend Jess's sister who own's the shop Our Little Tutus. So if you think you can't make one of these, you can buy one for under $30!

I saw a picture of her Santa tutu dress and decided to create one with the flair of a pettiskirt. So I made a tutu pettiskirt style dress using tulle, ribbon, a red crocheted baby beanie and headband and feathers/more tulle.

I made it by hand sewing together a red baby beanie I opened up to a wide baby headband.

Then I made the tutu dress like I explained in this tutorial. Then I tied small white strips to the ends of the red tulle skirt to make it look like a mock pettiskirt.

I added more frill by hand stitching a feather boa-like embellishment to the top front of the dress bodice. Note: DON'T stitch it all around. I did that at first and forgot that she'd have to fit in it. The bodice gives but the feather's didn't so I had to undo half of my stitching around the back.

After a photoshoot with the feather's I realized baby drool and feathers don't mix so I went back and tied white tulle to the top of the bodice (the same way I did with the red around the bottom) and trimmed it all down to the same length.

I added a black satin ribbon as the Ms. Claus belt with a rhinestone buckle (I found at Hobby Lobby).

TADA!

Naughty 'N Nice Gift Wrapping: {Almost} Wordless Wednesday

My husband hates shopping for Christmas gifts and I hate wrapping them. No, I despise wrapping presents. I'm a recycled-gift bag kind of girl. So when it came time to get the deed done this year I tried to put a smile on my face and make them good.

We have a family tradition to buy each other gifts from the dollar store each year (including gifts to/from Lil' J and Snoop), so that ups the quantity of presents to wrap. When I was done I couldn't help but notice the disparity in my efforts.

Here's how my wrapping started.

These are presents for my husband. Some weren't square-shaped so I grabbed boxes to put them in and wrapped them neatly. It's not perfect by any means but nice for me.

After about five gifts, the cutting, folding and taping became too much and I resorted to tearing, crumbling and sticking.

And this is how they ended.

To my credit I figured it would be easier for Snoop and Lil' J to open this way.

Merry Christmas!

My (not so) Secret Cheese Dip Recipe: What I'm Makin Monday

I'm not a cook by any means, but I'm learning ok?

So when I offered to help out with some snacks for a friend's baby shower I was reluctant to choose anything I'd have to make.

I read off the list of my options to a friend at work.

"Fruit or veggie platter, chips and queso, cake..."

My friend suggested I take the the chips and queso because it's not hard to make, and it's inexpensive.

At first I was intimidated by the idea of making something myself, but she told me a secret recipe with only two ingredients: Velveeta cheese and two cans of Rotel.

GENIUS. I thought. I'd make this yummy dip and everyone would think I spent an hour slaving by hand to make it so tasty *evil laugh*.

Little did I know my secret recipe wasn't so secret after all. In fact, the husband of the mama-to-be made that very same cheese dip when we visited them days before the shower.

Then at the shower, when I was running late and resorted to making the cheese dip at the party, all the ladies oohed and aahhed about it being their favorite way to make a sauce for chips.

So, it may not be top secret, in fact, I believe I saw the very recipe on the side of the Rotel can. But I still got to feel like a cook for 30 seconds, nonetheless.

My beautiful friend and mama-to-be!

I'm going to work on cooking more next year. I say this every year but I'm REALLY going to work on it this time! I have a game plan. I'll decide what I'm making, give my husband a grocery list, and he'll buy the stuff I need while I'm at work. Then I'll cook when I get home. Finding the ingredients at the store is half my battle. So maybe if I make him do that part I can conquer the kitchen.

Another challenge for me is finding recipes I like and can understand. I'm going to resubscribe to E-Mealz and pull your submitted recipes from here (link also now in my sidebar). If When I make it, I'll link to your shared recipe. It's my effort to be more domestic, and to eat better. Thanks for your help!

What did you make? Link up!

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How to Make DIY Wall Letters: What I'm Makin' Monday

I've been meaning to post about this for a long time, but I never got around to it because I forgot to import my photos.

Before my daughter was born I decorated wooden wall letters to hang in her nursery, over her diaper changer. I looked at buying some but thought a personal touch would not only save me some money, but be a fun way to get exactly what I was looking for. It didn't take much time, and I had nothing but it when I was waiting for her to arrive!

(This isn't mine but it's an example of a finished product)

I'm not much of a painter myself so I used scrapbook paper to get a clean look with a pretty finish that makes it look like it was painted on!

{All you need} 

Is a little modge podge, paint, the letters, an X-ACTO knife, a little sand paper, and some scrapbook paper, and you're good to go!

I ordered my daughter's letters off Ebay. I got 10" letters for a couple dollars each from a place like this.

{Step 1} 

I painted the backs and sides of the letters.

{Step 2} 

Spread Modge Podge all over the letter then placed the scrapbook paper over top, and put more modge podge on top.

{Step 3} 

Then I used my X-ACTO-knife to trace/cut around the edges of the letters with the scrapbook paper I picked out.

{Step 4}
Sand around the edges to smooth out the paper next to the wood.

{Step 5-Optional} 

To make it pretty and hang it up I tacked some satin ribbon to the back of the letters and hung them up in her nursery!

 Trust me, it looks marvelous!

Another example: Source.

What did you make?

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A Blog Button: What I'm Makin' Monday

Once again I'm not doing the best job at creativity with my What I'm Makin' Monday meme, but I worked 11 days in a row and haven't had time to sit down and craft like I want to. Next week will be better!

This week the only thing I made (not even a real meal, isn't that sad?) is a blog button for my Flash Giveaway.

I'm not really good at making blog buttons, or designing anything for that matter, but I was sorta a little impressed with how snazzy I made this button in a matter of minutes.

I looked around at different blog event buttons and got a few ideas for what works and noticed a few things: 1. Having 2-3 colors in the button, no more. 2. Having 2-3 different fonts or sized fonts so it's not all the same size. This can make up for lack of graphics.

I'd much rather hire someone like The Design Girl or A Blog to Brag About to make me a fun button, but I thought I'd make a simple something instead of wasting their time rushing on something that's, oh yea--TODAY!

Speaking of which I got NINE more sponsor requests for the giveaway. So now there's more than $1200 (I lost count of amount once we hit $1200) worth of prizes for 38 winners! I hope you'll stop by my facebook page to enter. It's simple, and for you, my loyal readers who have stuck by me! I wrote a note on how the giveaway works so read that. It's only going on for 24 hours, so if you snooze you loose!

Here's some more info about the final nine sponsors who are giving away a fun prize in the giveaway. You can see the other prizes here.

One thing I noticed today is that a lot of my twitter and blog friends decided to join in on the giveaway fun to expand their facebook fan base. You don't have to have a business to sponsor. Double Duty Mommy make cute baby hair bows and she's giving away $15 worth of hair bows to one winner. That's enough to buy 3 custom headbands for your little cutie.

I'm so excited that Ellie Adorn has asked to sponsor this event. I was so excited when I saw her nursing rings that I bought one of my own! Lil' J loves to pull on my shirt, or necklace if I'm wearing one, and this will be a nice distraction while she's eating. Especially since she gets so distracted lately and tries to socialize instead of eat when we're out! This is ok when we're in the mother's lounge at church but awkward if we're anywhere else. I think it could also be a nice teething toy too since she's so into chewing on everything lately. I purposely got a limited edition leopard print cause I think she's like the black and while speckles, but the winner of this giveaway gets to choose the nursing necklace of their choice!

Sweet Dreams Maternity Wear is also chiming in with a prize for you. They sell beautiful maternity gowns so you still feel beautiful and special, even when you may not feel it so hot. Well, maybe you feel hot, but not in a sexy way. They also just released a new line called "Baby Rockin' Mama" featuring a flashy guitar over your baby bump perfect for your little rock star. Singer Alicia Keys owns one! Sweet Dreams Maternity is giving away a $25 gift certificate to their shop!

Another shop giving away $25 to their store is BBaby Bling. What baby doesn't look adorable in bling? Lil' J and I LOVE bling, and she has one of these adorable bibs! I'm going to snap a picture of her in her blinged-out slobber-catcher and post it later today on my facebook page so you can see how cute it is. Like I mentioned, the winner gets $25 to this store which also sells customizable baby bling in onesies, hats, shirts, blankets and bibs.

I'm on the hunt for Christmas toys right now for Lil' J, I don't want to go crazy but I want to get a few educational things and something she can have fun filling and dumping, cause really, that's all kids this age want to do. Totally Kids Fun Furniture and Toys has all sorts of toys and furniture for kids all ages and they're giving away a $15 gift card to their store for three winners!

I thought I made cute tutus, but Alyssa from She's Mommiefied makes some adorable tutus, and she's going to give one lucky winner their choice in color and style for a custom tutu! Technically, I guess you could get one for yourself, but I think this is aimed for smaller people. This mom has an adorable baby girl and apparently two cervixes... Crazy right? Yea, that's what she says! She's a fun read!

Emily, from Baby Dickey is one of my blog besties. She is being such a good friend in supporting me. Not only has she read my blog awhile (I think) but she's also chipping in this giveaway and donating a prize! Is giving away a $15 Sock Punky from, well, Sock Punky. These things are so cute. I personally like the Hippo the best but Emily things the Monkeys are cute so I'm sampling a monkey for you all to see. Be sure to check out the shop to see more of the cute stuff and eyeball what you want! More importantly, check out Emily's great blog. She does lots of great giveaways too, so if you're into that, be sure to visit her giveaway blog as well.

Another top Etsy shop favorie of mine--Mod Mom Me-- is one of the final sponsors who squeezed into the giveaway and I'm so glad. I have one of her beautiful diaper clutches and I bought a wet bag to match it, and I'm about to buy another wet bag and a burp cloth and... Ok, I need to stop. Seeing all this fun stuff yall get to win is making me spend WAY too much money! Anyway, the mama behind these adorable projects just started making changing pad roll ups and one lucky winner will win one today!

And finally, last but not least, Addi's Closet is wrapping up the flash giveaway with some of her beautiful satin and Swarovski clips. She has two adorable kiddos of her own and enjoys art adn creating beautiful things. Which she has done here with these pretty clips. The winner gets two in the color of their choice.

And there you have it my friends! I'm no longer taking new sponsors, and anyone else who's interested can be on the top of the list for my next one, which will be at a date that is not yet determined.

Remember, this all starts today around 9am, and lasts all day! I'll post a giveaway or two every hour and you'll have 24 hours to enter before the giveaway closes! More information in the Flash Giveaway Sponsor Lineup Note! See you there!

PS: Back to my regularly scheduled programming tomorrow! :)

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Lactation Cookies: Show Me What You're Makin' Monday

That's right. Lactation Cookies! No, they're not made with breast milk but made FOR breast milk. I heard of these way back when, before I was even pregnant. I remembered them a couple of weeks ago when I started to worry a little about my supply. It's been up and down a little since I've been back at work and I kinda have been thinking I'd try a few easy things that could help. And what better excuse to eat cookies?

Hardier Lime

I looked up my previous post on the topic and found Hardier Lime's shop and bought mix for a dozen oatmeal raisin milk enhancing cookies! I think it was only like $8 for a dozen, not bad!

Believe it or not I didn't have vanilla so it took me a week or so to get around to buying some, then another week before I got around to making them. Today was the perfect day since I was down in the dumps about spilling a bottle of breast milk after pumping *sad face*.

I just started taking an herbal supplement with feungreek (more on that later) and I thought these cookies would not only cheer me up, but help as well.

The instructions were super easy and I never, and I mean hardly EVER (maybe once every few months) bake. So I was so happy with how quick and easy these were. It normally takes me reading the directions time and time again to make sure I don't screw it up, but even with me reading these 5Xs it only took about 20 minutes total to make, including the 8-10min baking time.

I just took them out of the oven and took a bite and they are SOOOO yummy!

What do you think? Want to try? Everyone who leaves a comment before next Monday the 15th will be entered to win a bag of these milk enhancing cookies! Follow @hardierlime on twitter or link up to What I'm Makin' Monday below and get an extra entry. Just leave an extra comment to let me know!

Winner will be announced on my Facebook Page.

What did you make this week? Share on What I'm Makin' Monday. It can be food, a craft, a tip, anything!

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DIY Hairbow Clips: What I'm Making Monday

Ever seen those adorable hair bow clippies? I found a cute shop on Etsy where their bows are all just $1. But before I went crazy I thought I'd try making some of my own and whatdoyaknow... It's way easy!

What you'll need:
Some ribbon that's about 3/8in wide
Metal 2 prong clips
Hot glue
Scissors
Lighter (to defray/seal the ends of the ribbon)

Step 1: Glue ribbon around and inside the prong clip

Step 2: Cut a piece of ribbon about 2in long and glue the two ends together so it makes a circle.

Step 3: Glue the middle of that circle together by placing a dab of glue on one end then squeezing it together.

Step 4: Glue the pinched circle to the metal prong covered in ribbon.

Step 5: Cut a 1 inch piece of ribbon, wrap it around the pinched part of the bow and glue it to the top inside part of the clippie.

TADA!! Her first Pony tail!

What do you think? I went crazy and made all sorts of Halloween ones that I forgot I made until Halloween night but oh well, there's always next year.

Two people who comment on this post before next Monday (November 8th) will win a clippie of their choice. You can choose one of these, or I have lots of other colors of ribbon if you have another color in mind.

If you follow my blog or link up to What I'm Making Monday below, let me know in another comment as an extra entry!

Winner from last week's WIMM: #22 April! Email me back and I'll send you the tutu dress!

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How to Make a Tutu Dress: What I'm Making Monday

Before Lil' J was born I already had about six tutus and three tutu dresses made for her. I posted a tutu making tutorial already, but tutu dresses are even more fun, especially for little babies and in my opinion, they're easier to make!

I didn't want to pay $40+ on something I could make for $5 so I learned how to make them myself.

I was making one for my friend While Sol Sleeps, so I took photographs along the way to show you how it's done.

First, what you'll need is tulle, a crocheted tube top (which can be made of you cut the tie at the end of a big beanie, or you can buy 6in crocheted headbands here), tulle, sissors, and whatever embellishments you want: flowers, ribbon, etc.

1. Cut the tulle in lengths that you like. I buy my tulle by the roll at Hobby Lobby. It's rolled up 6in wide which is perfect for tutus. Then I cut the strips 20in long since it'll be folded in half and become a 10in tutu.

2. Fold a tulle strip in half, and push the hoop part through a bottom crochet hole in the tutu top.

3. Pull the other end of the tulle through the loop to make a easy knot, pull it tight.

4. Repeat all the way around the crocheted top.

5. Add the flower, and ribbon embellishments to finish it off. I make the flower detachable on a silver hair clip so it can be a hairbow, or clip onto the dress!
What do you think? Don't think you can make one? Ourlittletutus.com sells cute tutu dresses for an affordable price!

Also, I'll give away a small pink and black tutu dress to a commenter who comments on this post before November 1st. Lil' J wore it once to model for this picture, then out grew it!

If you want an extra entry (or just feel like showing off your creation), participate in What I'm Making Monday. Link up your What I'm Making post!

(I'm still getting used to this Linky thing, so bare with me while I try to figur this stuff out!)

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