FREE Starbucks?!?!

Just a quick blog post because I just heard the news!

FREE STARBUCKS!!!  Yep, that's right.  Here's the deal - bring a reusable mug or cup to Starbucks tomorrow and in honor of Earth Day, they will be giving out FREE coffee and tea to fill your mug.  How awesome, is that?!?!  We will definitely be stopping by Starbucks on our way to the Picture People in the morning so we don't miss out on the freeness:) 

Happy coffee drinking on Earth Day!

J

Today is my Friday!

trying out the grass again

There is simply nothing better than a 4 day workweek...well, other than a 3 day workweek..or no workweek at all!  Enough of my bad humor...despite the down turn in the weather today (85 yesterday to 60 today:( - boo!), it's my Friday and I couldn't be happier.  Good Friday is observed by the company I work for and the hubs is taking a vacation day so we can spend the day as a family tomorrow.  I have already mapped out some plans for the day and hopefully if the weather cooperates we'll have the perfect balance of spending some quality time together as a family and also take care of some upkeep items around the house.  I've already got an appointment scheduled to get some studio Easter pictures done of Addie at the Picture People (say what you will about cheesy mall pics but we have had some great success taking Addie there) and then I'm hoping to head to my fave consignment shop at the beach, Sprout (isn't that just the cutest name?), to buy some 6-9 month sleepers for Addie.  If all goes well, I'd really like to get the flower beds mulched in the afternoon - that kind of makes me tired just thinking about all that.  When I sent my hubs my ideas he responded with "yeah, come to think of it, I think they're gonna need me here on Friday." HA!  Not happening!  And because I didn't post a whole slew of updated pics of the girl yesterday...here are some I took this past weekend ( I know, I know, I just can't get enough of the picture taking):

a blanket my dear friend E had made for addie with her full name

Anyhow, I'm hoping to spend some time tonight putting together a post for Friday about breastfeeding thats honest and completely open about my experience (the good, the bad, and the oh my nipples are cracked ugly!).  I'm hoping it will be good info for anyone thats pregnant and trying to figure out the pros and cons of BF and make for good laughs for those of you that have been through it.

J

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Today I'm doing something a little different from the usual Wednesday picture post and linking up with Jamie over at "this kind of love" for "What I'm loving Wednesday."
What I'm loving:

for Addie:  I finished my easter basket shopping up and I am absolutely loving everything I got to fill it.  In addition to the adorable things I mentioned in my post on Saturday, I also picked up these cute things:

Melissa & Doug Linking Crab

pink and white leg warmers from Target

Addie's first pool for the summer

I am so excited about this Sunday and spending our first Easter together as a family.  I'll be back next week with all of the pictures - Addie has really bad reflux and usually goes through about 3 outfits a day so we have several Easter ensembles ready to go!

for Momma:

Ann Taylor and Ann Talyor Loft are currently offereing 40% off everything!!  I love these stores and I LOVE a sale...my debit card is nervous right now....

I also came across these during my Easter basket shopping that just seem to make great sense - I'm loving the idea of them -they come in all different colors - and I'mtotally thinking about picking out one or two just to give them a try.  They are jewelry for moms that are totally teethable.  Yes, a big teething ring around your neck or wrist that looks like jewelry!

for my home:
I was at Target about 2 weeks ago and I spotted this outdoor table cloth and loved the almost "Tiffany blue" color.  I knew it would be perfect for summer cook-outs and the fabric felt great.  Even more to love - it was only $9.99.  I have already used it and washed it and it held up great.  I highly recommend looking at Target's outdoor table cloths if you're in the market!  You will also spot in that picture a glass beverage dispenser that I have been wanting for the longest time and finally bought on that same Target shopping trip.  The hubs and I love to entertain and this just does a great job of dressing up any drink you're serving and with summer upon us - I had to have it.  We've tried it once and it was great - all for only $20.79 at Target:)  Sangria, anyone?

from my garden:
I posted yesterday about harvesting my collard greens but wanted to mention today that the lettuce I just planted a few weeks ago is sprouting up and looking wonderful.  I love lettuce fresh out of the garden, it really does taste different from the store bought and this year I'm growing romaine and buttercrunch.  By next week, I am definitely thinking these will be ready for picking (and by that I mean, just grabbing the lettuce you need for your dinner salad - not harvesting the whole plant - these things are the gifts that keep on giving:))

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday - whats not to love about being half way through the week!

J

Harvesting and Freezing Collard Greens

I know-by just looking at the title some of you have likely already started gagging at the word "collard" or maybe you don't even know what they are.  So - trust me when I say, they are an acquired taste and most commonly found in southern cooking.  They are a green leefy vegetable (sort of like kale or other mustard greens) that are generally cooked with "streak of lean/streak of fat" or "fat back" for added flavor in a pot for about an hour or so - they get mushy so I really don't think you can "overcook" them.  I generally add cider vinegar to mine when I eat them and refuse to eat these things cold!

The hubs and I started a family garden in our backyard last year and LOVE to plant all sorts of wonderful veggies in it.  We really try to hard to utlize it all year round and not just in the summer when the tomatoes are best (although, those are my favorite).  So this past fall we my mom planted the collards and cabbage we purchased (it was early October and our little girl arrived a little earlier than planned so my momma was nice enough to not let these little collards die a slow death in their store bought container).  We have watched them grow, get covered in over a foot of snow, see the first signs of springs, and FINALLY it was time to harvest our goods.  They (all of those real farmers who have FAR more experience than me) say that the best time to pick collards is January through April and well, its April and I need the bed/box space for my summer stuff.  So, this past weekend, I harvested and froze the collard greens (clearly we weren't going to eat collards for breakfast-lunch-dinner, repeat) from our garden.  I thought I'd share how we did it because prior to this weekend, I'd never frozen collards and trust me, it wasn't bad.  So, here's the play-by-play on a process called "blanching" (yep, just learned that too this weekend - I think I'm becoming more domestic by the minute:)):

Things You Need:
* Stock pot filled 2/3 full
* Bowl filled with cool water
* Bowl filled with COLD water and ice cubes
* Collander
* Tongs
* Timer
* Garden shears

Step by step:
1.  I first clipped the collards I wanted off of the plant using my garden/kitchen shears.  I discarded those greens that graced the ground as well as the itty bitty greens that were new growth (basically I stuck to the middle 2/3 of the plant).

2.  Place the stockpot on the burner (filled 2/3 of the way with water) and bring to a boil.

3.  Place the picked greens in a large bowl of cool water (I didn't do them all at once because I had far too many so I did it in sections).  Once they had soaked for about a minute, I looked each leaf over to check for bugs or any signs of fungus and brush off anything that hadn't fallen off in the water.  I dumped the water and then re-filled to give the leaves another bath.

4.  Place the greens in the stockpot (once the water is boiling) and cover tightly and let boil for 3 minutes.

5.  After 3 minutes, remove promptly using the tongs and place in bowl filled with COLD water and ice cubes.  Make sure the greens are fully immersed in the water to ensure the cooking has stopped.  Allow to cool in the bowl for 3 minutes.

6.  Remove from the bowl and place in a collander to drain off excess water then squeeze the greens out to remove as much water as possible.

7.  Once water has been removed, place in a freezer bag and remove as much air as possible for sealing.  One trick I like to use if you don't have a food sealer is to leave just enough room along the zipper to place a straw in the corner and suck any remaining air out.  It helps, promise!!  Your collards are now ready to be put in the freezer for a later date!

So that's it, super easy!  I now have several bags of collard greens that we can eat whenever our hearts desire.

Baby Product Review - Wubbanub Pacifiers

**I have not been paid or in any other way incentivized for this review.  These opinions are my own**
  I've linked up with Amanda over at Serenity Now for the weekend blog party read!!  Hop over and join in on the fun:)

Addie and her duck

Addie has been a paci baby almost from the start.  We learned in our parenting classes that we should not introduce the paci until they were at least 4 weeks old to prevent any kind of nipple confusion if we were breastfeeding and so, the hubs and I requested the hospital staff not give her a paci and outside of some I received at a shower, didn't have any in our house.  We quickly realized though, if we wanted to get any sleep at all, we were going to have to give Addie the paci and she loved it from day 1.  So, we caved about 1 week in and only had one bad BF experience (which I still don't know if it was the paci or just a coincidence) and after that, it was smooth rolling.  So, at Starbucks one morning after S and I had been up almost every 2 hours returning the paci to our dear darlings mouth so she could sleep, Lis introduced us to the wubbanub.  I was in total awe - how could I have missed that in everything baby I had been looking at for the past 11 months??  I immediately went home and ordered a few and its been bliss ever since!

Product name: Wubbanub Pacifier

Price: $9.99 at Babies R Us

Gender: neutral

Easy to clean: Yes and No.  The stuffed animal on the end is easy to clean by just throwing it through the wash.  But, then you have to clean the paci end, and of course, because of the stuffed animal, you can't sterilize:(

Success or Failure: Huge success!!

Age she started using it: 6 weeks

Age she stopped using it: Still going strong at 6 1/2 months

Pros:  Addie seriously adores these little pacis.  She gets so excited about them, and has to have hers before she goes to bed at night.  I love that they have the stuffed animal on the end for a couple of reasons:
* Once Addie gained control of her hands she no longer needs us to give her the paci back in the middle  of the night because she can always find the stuffed animal
* Due to their size, they don't easily fall out of the crib and they are hard to lose and easy to find in a diaper bag
* It provides that "security" feel because she can hold onto and pull the stuffed animal against her chest
* It's so darn cute to see her with what looks like a stuffed animal hanging out of her mouth 
* Some mornings I find her awake and playing with the stuffed animal in her crib.
Prior to purchasing the wubbanubs, we lost pacis ALL.THE.TIME and those things start to add up.  These obviously cost way more than a normal paci but I'm pretty sure we've made our money back.

Cons:  Like I noted above, you can't really sterilize these things like I'd like to and they are much easier to throw across the room with the stuffed animal on the end.  In hind sight, we may have waited until Addie was about 2 or 3 months to start using them - it may have been a little early at first.  But, from the beginning she has loved the stuffed animal.

Other info:  These pacis come in all different kinds of stuffed animals.  We have two ducks (go figure, right:)) and two elephants but they are all adorable.  It is a soothie paci on the end so if you're baby isn't a fan of that type of paci, this probably won't be a good fit.  Also, I'm VERY sensitive to the SIDS issue (scares me to death) and Addie doesn't have any extras in her crib.  But, pacifiers are shown to reduce the risk of SIDS and the stuffed animal, in my opinion, isn't big enough that she could smother her face in it. So, we're ok with putting her down with it at night, although I did have some reservations at first.

Would I buy again or buy for a friend? Yes - we love these and thankfully because they are so big we have managed to not lose any of the 4 we bought when Addie was 6 weeks old.  They also make adorable shower gifts!


J

Happy Sunday and a blog award!

happy sunday!!!

Wow...hard to believe (for me anyways) that I've been blogging for a month now.  I have had such a blast this past month writing about happenings in my household, giving my honest opinion on things that have and haven't worked for us, sharing recipes and laughs and special memories.  I've already met (virtually, of course:)) SO many wonderful people and I'm absolutely loving the little community I feel I'm starting to become a part of.

So, I was thrilled when I received my first bloggy award from my blog twin, Natalie over at From Corporate to Domestic.  She's a wonderful momma to a beautiful little boy named Nolan, and recently made the switch from the corporate world to being a stay at home mom (smart girl - I still clearly haven't figured that out;)) and is loving it.  She has a great sense of humor, writes about real stuff, and I'm SO glad to have her as a bloggy friend!  If you haven't been over to check out her blog, you seriously should!!!

So, the rules of the award are: share 7 things about yourself and hand out the award to 15 more people.  So, I'm hoping to follow Natalie's lead and pass this award along to 5 of my favorite blogs, because I'm still new (I can say that for like the first year I'm blogging, right?!)

7 Things About Me:

1.  I often mess up the pronunciation of words - to my friend's and family's humor and often my embarrassment.  I still can't say the word Asiago correctly.  I pronounce it: ah-sodge-e-o and the lady at Starbucks no longer asks me to repeat it when ordering my asiago bagel - she knows what I mean now;)  I also made the mistake of pronouncing vlog as V - log (with strong emphasis on the V) so now, every time I see my friend Lis, she asks how my B - logging is going.  There are countless other examples, I won't bore you with all of those but those are the most recent.

2.  I was president of my sorority in college - Yes, so for all of those non-greek people, not only did I pay for my friends but then I also went to work for them!

3.  I am OBSESSED with Trader Joes! - I've even thought about doing some blog posts of my favorite items but I know Trader Joes isn't in every city in the country so I hate to bore anyone with details about a grocery store they've never been into.  But seriously, I go once a week even though I pass at least 10 other grocery stores to get there!

4.  My hubs and I's grandparents went to high school together.  Can you say, arranged marriage?  Ha!  Not really, we didn't realize all of this until after we had been dating for some time but my grandfather and his grandmother went to the same high school and knew each other, and his grandmother and my grandmother were also BEST FRIENDS growing up (yes, lived just a few houses apart).  We have lots of other examples like that between our two families, weird to say the least!

5.  I want to have 3 kids.  The hubs says 2, but I think he's warming up to the idea of 3.  I thought I wanted 3 before we had Addie and now that she's here, I KNOW I want 2 more - I absolutely LOVE being a momma - and my hubs is a great father.  But, no worries, I'm not prego now - we are going to give it a couple of years between!

6.  I love looking at houses!  Perhaps I should have been a real estate agent, because the hubs and I can spend hours driving through neighborhoods talking about houses we like and don't like and looking online at houses for sale and what they have going on inside.  We love our little house but if #5 comes true, we will outgrow our humble abode, and so we often talk about our "forever home" and what neighborhood we want to buy in and what we want our house to look like.  I'm a serious sucker for colonial or craftsman style homes with an OPEN layout inside!

7. I love my job in the corporate world.  Not that some days I don't long to stay home with my girl, well, every day but I really do like what I do.  I'm a CPA (certified public accountant) but I don't do taxes (not even my own, thank you Turbo Tax) - you see why I saved that for #7 (I figured a large majority of ya'll would stop reading right there - promise, I'm not boring, don't have a pocket protector, or thick glasses;))  I work in the Corporate Accounting department for a VERY old company whose culture is evolving and its nice to be where I am.

And, of course, I'm handing out awards to these 5 bloggers, who are also first-time mommy's like myself.  Go check out their blogs, I promise you won't be disappointed (do I sound like a used car salesman, yet?!)!!

1.  Nap Time is the New Happy Hour - The title of this blog got me first - I mean, could it be more true:)  Cheryl, is a darling momma, to precious Little C, and blogs about all sorts of wonderful things about managing your household (awesome organization ideas from this post), all things baby, and sees the humor in life!

2.  The Kegley Family - Kelli, over at the Kegley Family has the most adorable little boy, named Connor, who recently celebrated his first birthday (get some great birthday party ideas from this post).  She does a wonderful job of sharing everything going on with Connor and in their home and is always full of great ideas and suggestions!!

3.  Adventures with Gwen - Samantha, who is momma to an absolutely beautiful little girl named Gwen gets a good laugh out of life, loves her family, and shares all of her household happenings with a bit of humor thrown in!  You should def. read about her crazy run in with jury duty a few weeks ago!!

4.  Traci's Trip through Life - Traci was one of the first people to welcome me to the blog world and I just adore her blog.  She is the proud momma to a precious baby girl named Hadley and shares it ALL!  Seriously, she is one of the most open and honest blogs I read and I can so relate to so much of what she blogs about.  She recently started on a "get those pregnancy pounds off" workout plan is doing awesome, see her latest post for an update.  

5.  My Thoughts - Uninterrupted - Laura is a wonderful momma to a baby boy named Ethan and takes him to all sorts of fun places, including a funny story about a trip to "Mule Day," and I can totally relate to her post about "Things I said I'd never own."  She has a fun-loving approach to life and is a veteran blogger:)

Thanks again Natalie for the award!!  Happy Sunday:)

J

Saturday Morning Scene

This morning I'm linking up with Katie over at "Loves of Life" to join in the the fun and share our Saturday Morning Scene.

I realized as I climbed out of bed that Easter is NEXT WEEKEND (I haven't even put my Easter wreath on my front door - what's wrong with me??)!!!  Yikes...I don't have a thing for Addie's easter basket...a few ideas...but nothing in hand.  Panic set in just a little bit...obviously candy is out of the question and thankfully I was way ahead of the game and ordered her Easter Basket from PBK in March, so I at least have that...and it's HUGE by the way (which means I need more to fill it;))  So, I've be perusing Amazon looking for everything I can to fill her basket and thought I'd share what I've found so far:

Plush Cordy Roys Duck

After about our first week of being at home with Addie, we noticed that everytime we put her in a particular fleece sleep n'play that just so happened to have ducks all over it...she would get ANGRY.  I know it was coincidence but started calling her the angry duckie...or duckie for short.  Even sometimes when she started crying in those early days she would make a duck sound.  So, that combined with my love for these JellyCat toys - the material and quality is awesome - made this decision an easy one.  Plus, ducks and Easter kind of go together so, I figured this makes a perfect item to put in her basket.

Melissa & Doug Fishbowl Fill and Spill

Not much of a story with this one - I just think this would be super adorable for her to play with and I love the sea creatures.  I've also gotten just a few Melissa & Doug things before and LOVED them and have always heard people say great things about their quality and affordability.

Boon foam bath toys

Boon is another one of my favorite maker of all things baby and after seeing a special on the new about the mold and mildew that grow in the rubber squirt toys, Addie has been taking her bath sans toys - poor girl - what a boring bath - MOM fail:(  So, I figure these foam pieces will give her something to play with and be easily cleaned so nothing slimy can grow.

Doing all of this course, with my main staple: coffeeeeee....next to me! I'd love to hear any great Easter basket ideas for a 6 month old or if anyone has any reviews of anything I have above (I honestly rely on those Amazon reviews so much when looking for things)  Have a great Saturday!!

J

Little Green Monsters...

Yes, these little green monsters have decided to take up residence in my home and demand attention from Addie and I this week :(  Uugghh, this is Addie's first cold and although its bad to have a sick baby...it's worse when momma is sick too!  Im still BF so my selection of medications is minimal and because I'm a first-time mom, I'm scared to take anything.  So, we are doing as much "natural" stuff as we can - humidifiers, steam showers, and snot sucking (sorry, I know thats not the most pleasant way to say that).  My little girl has been in the best of spirits despite these unwelcome house guests and has really only had one rough night, where she was up every 3 hours because she couldn't breathe through her nose and wasn't quite ready to give up the paci that helps soothe her at night so that she could breathe through her mouth.  She actually seems to be handling it better than I but then again she is sleeping during the day and I am only sneaking in a 30 minute nap at lunch (oh yes, closing the door to my office-turning the lights out-curling up on my couch style).  I'm hopeful we are on the mend and will be much better by the weekend.

Also, thanks to everyone for the sweet comments yesterday about my papa - it really meant alot to me.  I apologize for not keeping up all my blog reading and commenting - I miss it and hope to be rid of these unwelcome guests by the weekend!

J

And because, I don't want that ugly green monster to be the only picture on this post - here's a pic of my girl enjoying some bananas from last week:

The Gift of Time

I'd like to think I'm pretty upbeat and positive in most of my posts and this one may be a little more "down"...so, I thought I'd give a heads up if you want to pass on this one today.

I'm very fortunate to still have grandparents that are living and I really cherish the time spent with them although, I wish I spent more (my guilt and regret right there).  Listening to stories of days gone by and the simple pleasures that we often take for granted makes me so thankful for the life I live today.

This past Sunday, my mom, Addie, and myself went to visit my Grandfather who has been in failing health for the last 2 years.  He now lives in an assisted living facility and has been in and out of the hospital several times in the last 3 months or so and by all accounts we are no longer measuring his time left on this earth in years.  My grandfather grew up poor, with his mom working as a single mother in a clothes pin factory to try and provide for herself and her son.  My grandfather's dad was a tug boat captain that was fond of the drink and spent most of his money on just that and didn't offer much to help raise my grandfather.  Through it all, he persevered, worked in an electrical warehouse, got married and had 4 children and decided he wanted a little more from life.  He took some accounting courses at the local college, all while raising 4 children and working full time, and then sat for and passed the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) exam.  He worked at a small local accounting firm before deciding to go to work for the one of the local city school systems as the Director of Finance, where he worked a good part of his career before retiring.  During his adult years he spent most of his days at work and weekends on the golf course.  He was not a man of emotions or feelings, an "I love you" was rare, but you always knew he did.  Since the start of his failing health (marked by a bad stroke on July 4, 2009) he's become much more emotional and often sheds tears and shares emotions every time we see him.  He is a wonderful father, grandfather (or papa as we call him), and great-grandfather (despite his failing health since the birth of his two great-grandchildren, Charlie and Addie).  Somedays he can't remember our names or how we are associated but he's always glad to see us.  Saturday was no different and it means so much to enjoy a warm spring morning sitting outside and talking about the weather.  I got some much needed pictures of him and Addie together and although she will likely never remember him, she will have pictures that I can only hope she will cherish as much as I do.

My grandfather has been an inspiration to me and has earned the love and respect of his family.  He only lived two blocks away from my parents when I was growing up and to say he was an integral part of my life would be an understatement.  He took care of me when I was sick and my parents had to go to work and cheered me on in school and sports.  He took care to listen to everything I had to tell him and always had advice to give, whether you wanted to hear it or not!  He's quick to point out the obvious - like a few months ago when he told me - "You've put on some weight, haven't you J?"  To which I replied - "Yes papa, but I just had a baby, remember?"  Or the time he said to the hubs - "Damn S, you're losing your hair, aren't ya?" - and well, S is:)  but I'm so thankful and fortunate to have him for a grandfather and if there's one thing I know for sure its this - there's a very special place waiting for him and when its his time, he'll be in a better place.

J  

"That man is successful who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has gained the respect of the intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had."  ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Furbabies

S and I are both HUGE animal lovers and have 3 of our own - 2 dogs and I kitty.  I thought I'd share some pics of the canines and feline that think they pay the mortgage around here.  But - most importantly - they adore Addie and she adores them:)

Riggo, our pound kitty and most talkative

Junior, our oldest and most hyper

Coleman, our baby and most loving

J