Menu Monday

I am happy to report that we followed our menu last week except for Friday. We weren't in the mood for tacos so we had hamburgers and then had Tacos on Sunday night. So, we didn't waste in food! Yipee! Anyway, here is the menu for the week.

Monday: Chili dogs, chips, pasta salad
Tuesday: Rotisserie Chicken, rice, broccoli
Wednesday: Popcorn Shrip, Red Potatos, Salad
Thursday: Chicken quesadilla (using leftover rotisserie chicken)
Friday: Sloppy Joes, pasta salad, chips, any other left over sides from the week.

Hope yall have a great week! What's for dinner?

35 weeks...

....and a couple of days..I know I know...ARRGGHHH!! To be honest I was wiped out on Friday after the first week of school and so was Bailey. She was in bed by 7 and I was in bed by 9 so we didn't get the monkey pics done. Thought I would do them on Saturday but then we got busy and then went out to campsite so didn't get them done again. So, today it was. At this point though I really don't think too much changes in 2 days! HA! :)

Hey there monkey how are you?

I'm outta here. Only babies lay on these

Maybe I will crawl this week? HMMMM.....

Outdoor Bear

My parents were out camping this weekend so we went out last night for dinner and to enjoy the unusual cool weather that we are having for a August in Texas. Bailey loves to be outside. She just sits and takes everything in. She stayed up 2 hours past her bedtime and was pretty pleasant the whole time of course we had help from the suckey! :) I totally sucked at taking pictures. I swear everytime we are around Mimi and Poppy I forget to take pictures and my photographer aka my sister was out to dinner with friends. I did snap a few pics with the cousins. On that note it is totally unbelievable to me that Mason is in 7th grade! Like he could one of my kids in class. I swear it was just yesterday he was Bailey's age!

8 MONTHS

Wow! It is hard to believe that 8 months ago my beautiful littly sugar bear came into this world! It seems like yesterday and yet seems like I have had her forever all in the same. Bailey is still the happiest baby almost all the time. She very rarely just crys unless she has hurt herself. If she needs something she pleasantly fusses or that is what her daddy says! This is what you are up to these days my bear

1) You weigh about 20 lbs, wear a size 3 diaper and 12 month clothes which are all dresses! :)

2) You nurse about 4 to 5 times a day and eat solids about 3 times.

3) You seem to really like food now especially while at sitters while away from mom. You seem to eat anything I give you now and I am making your food.

4) You take a couple naps of day and sleep best at home in your own bed

5) You go to bed at 7 and get up between 6 and 7. Your first weekend since mom returned to work you went to bed at 8 and slept until 7:30..probably because of better naps...can we have that weekend routinue all the time?

6) You talk more and more each day. You have said Dada and bye bye with motions. You also make a lot of other sounds including mama but havent said it to me as a name.

7) You love to play with these cups that stack on each other and has a little ball. You have a serious concentration face when you are trying to do something8) You are not crawling yet but are really working on it.

9) You like to get over to the tile and bang on it

10) You can get from one side of the room to the other by rolling and scooting. You do this funny scoot thing on your side like this...

11) and will work very hard to get to a pair of shoes!

11) You do not have any teeth yet and haven't shown signs of teething

12) You make some of the funniest faces that make me laugh hard and when I laugh you will laugh too. I think you might me a class clown

13) Bath time is one of your favorite things. You would stay in the tub for hours if we let you even when the water turns cold and you are pruney.

You are growing so fast my sweet little bear. Mommy and daddy love you more each day!

Bye-Bye

Today when I picked up Bailey from the sitter we were saying bye to Angie and her son Braden and Bailey said Bye-bye and waved! Ah it was greatness! I have thought she has said bye bye a few other times but with the motion just blew me away. She is changing too fast!

Menu Monday and confessions

So, I have been horrible about making decent meals for sometime. I hate lists and so I would go to the store and get fixings for things but without really having meals in mind. Trev told me that we ate like bachelors this weekend and I though...ya we do! We used to have more planned meals but somewhere along the way it got lost and I hate to admit it but we wasted a lot of food simply because I didn't have it planned and it went to waste. I have seen other people list their menus for a week, month, even one blog where they had it for the year! Craziness! I decided I would shoot for a workweek because we usuually eat out on the weekend or cook burgers or something. Anyway, here is our menu for the week. I am not going to list recipes at this point but if there is something you are interested in let me know and I can post recipe.

Monday - Tator Tot Beef Casserole, Broccoli
Tuesday - BBQ Chicken on the grill, corn on the cob, salad
WEdnesday - Left over Tator Tot Casserole, salad
Thursday - Stofferes garlic chicken skillet, walnut salad
Friday - Tacos, mexican rice

So "What's for dinner?"

34 weeks and 1 day!

Hey its me Bailey! My mom totally forgot about monkey pics yesterday. We have had a busy, but good week! I am doing well at the sitters and I am enjoying eating food there, drinking a little milk and waiting on my mommy!

Like my crawling stance? I got it figured out! Only 1 problem. I only know how to go in reverse and to lay down and roll. Its really frustrating when you back yourself into a corner. Mom says I will figure out how to go forward soon! :)

Blurb your Blog

No I didn't mean burp your blog I really said blurb your blog! HA! Anyway, one of my last summer projects was to print of 1 year of our blog. I started using scrapbook blogger at first but it did not have very many options and I did not like the limitations it was setting on me. Then thanks to Erica she led me to www.blurb.com! Holy cow I didn't know if to thank her or strangler her because this website was awesome but it has so many options that I was like WOW! He He! Just kidding. I am very happy with how my book turned out. You go to the website and download their software and then it "slurps" your blog info into a book form. From there the options are endless. You can make your own formats, choose backgrounds, have many posts on one page, a few posts on one page, lots of pics on one page, lots of writing on one page, a small book, a large book, a hard cover book, and the list goes on and on! Now when you first slurp your blog do not be alarmed because when I first slurped mine it was over 300 pages long but it had some pages where it had only put one picture or one post. So, you have to do a bit of editing. I chose one background for my book to keep it easy and kept some of the layouts that it had after the slurp so I didn't spend too long...maybe the next book!

So, how much does it cost to print your blog for an entire year? Well I guess that depends on how much you blog! He! HE! For me I chose the 12x12 hardcover book that ended up with 110 pages and it was about $90. Now that might sound like a lot but it included 137 posts, over 400 pictures, and lots of great memories!

Anyway, just thought I would pass on the knowledge. Here are some pictures of the book. The pictures are sortof blah because I took them in the office but you get the idea! Check it out! IT ROCKS!

Front Cover

Back cover

sample pages

My gentle giant

Bailey loves Duke even though he is 7 times her size and following in true Dane nature he is really a gentle giant. He seems a little annoyed at Bailey at times just by the look on his face but I am pretty sure he feels it is his duty to also watch over her. He spends most of the day napping on the couch and ignoring her. Although I have caught him napping in her room with her if I leave the door open. When bath time comes he watches over us to make sure we do it right. He comes into the bathroom a couple of times to check things out and then waits on the floor in her room. Then if Bailey is not too fussy and ready for bed right then we play around with him on the floor.

She has discovered that he has ears and does pull them. Duke seems to tolerate it although he does make this sound that means, "I am not quite sure about this."

I was able to capture Bailey's stance where she goes from a sit to thinking about crawling. Too cute!

33 weeks - PJs AGAIN!

Hello its Bailey here! Yes thats me in my PJs again for monkey pics. I bet you were tired of seeing me in dresses all the time and I have some pretty cute PJs too don't you think? Anyway, it has been a fun week with mom. I have decided to eat more food and I think mom is thrilled that someone likes her "cooking." I also have started thinking about crawling. I am getting sort of in the position and scooting backwards. Anyway, here I am with this crazy monkey again...

How do you....

...go to the bathroom in public with a baby? Seriously?

So, yesterday I was at Wal-Mart doing a BIG shopping trip when I needed to go to the bathroom. No big deal right? Bailey is happily riding in the cart now like a big girl with her Floppy Seat (I will get a pic sometime) and so what am I going to do with her? I have a buggy full of stuff already and debated on rolling it into the bathroom despite all the signs but thought no I really don't want my food in a Wal-Mart bathroom or some little old wal-mart lady coming in there telling me that I can't bring my merchandise in. So, just like everything else in motherhood I pick Bailey up and decide I will figure it out when I get in there. So, I basically sat on the toilet with her in my lap and almost squooshed the life out of her trying to wipe but we survived! Yes, I had to sit on the public toilet because I am not nearly talented enough to hover, hold a baby and go to the bathroom but it was me or the baby on the floor. I think the choice is clear.

So, how in do you do it?

Tickle Monster

Bailey laughs so much and it is so funny. Of course everytime I get the camera I can't get her to laugh anymore. So, the tickle monster had to come out!

Dada?

Tonight Trev was playing with Bailey and it seemed as if she looked right at him and said dada. She has been saying dada and mama but not as names so maybe this is the first? We shall see maybe by morning she will be calling me mama! HA!

Mommy Brain Farts

So I was reading over on Robin's Blog this morning and she was talking about mommy moments that she has had since becoming a new mom. It reminded me that I have been meaning to tell yall about something that I have done over and over and over since becoming a mom. You would think I would learn. I like to call it my brain farts but I think Robin phrased it better by calling them mommy moments.

Anyway, I wear nursing tank tops so that if I have to nurse in public I am not showing the whole world my belly because I am pretty sure no one wants to see my stretch marks or fat! HA! Its sort of funny that I don't really care if people see my boobs but my belly...ARRGGHHH!! Anyway, there have been MANY occassions where I have fed Bailey in the car and then walked into the store with my shirt still up above my boobs. Now, nothing is showing because of the tank top and that is why you don't even realize you are looking like a fool but I am pretty sure I must look like a nut walking through the store with my shirt hiked up! Anyway, just thought I would share this funny so that I can remember it and to give you a good laugh! :)

32 weeks in PJs

So, I almost forgot Bailey was 32 weeks old today and to take monkey pics! So, she is really tired and sporting her PJs. She was still happy to see monkey though and play with him I just didn't get to many smiles!

Pear Sauce and Sippy Cups

So, now that I am making baby food I have the following question. Why do we only have Applesauce and not other fruit sauces? I mean when I make Bailey's fruit it is "sauce" yet you only go to the store and buy applesauce. What makes it become applesauce when you puree the apples and add some water. I suppose applesauce came about buy adding sugar and stuff but now we have "natural" applesauce without all of that stuff. Anyway, I have come to find out that pear "sauce" is actually really good. In fact I think it might be better than applesauce. Now don't be fouled by the "cooking" part of pear sauce. All you do is wait for the pears to be pretty ripe. Put in the blender and you have pear sauce. I didn't even add water. Anyway, Bailey seems to like the pear sauce as well. Also it seems to help keep the bowels moving too. :) Here is Bailey enjoying some pears...I mean pear sauce.

I have been working with Bailey on using her sippy cup. She is sort of getting the hang of it she just doesnt quite get that she needs to tilt her head back more to get something out. She does get lucky from time to time and gets a drink. Its just water. I don't plan on giving her juice until she is quite a bit older. :) Here are some pics of her sippy cup practice.

Workin' and Pumpin'

So, in a few weeks I will return to work and my friend the breast pump will be tagging along. I am writing this just to think out loud and also because I hope that it will encourage other people to keep breastfeeding even if they have to be seperated from your baby.

I knew that I would breastfeed Bailey from before I even knew I was pregnant and I knew I would continue to do so even after I returned to work. To me it is a no brainer but I know for some it is a little harder decision. When I returned to work many people acted like I was some kind of martyr for continuing to breastfeed my baby and pump at work. I got many comments like, "I think it is so great that you have continued to do that." Which is nice and I will take it becuase hey it is better than the alternative.

It is nice that I am not a shy person either. If people ask me why I am late to lunch I tell them, if I need to be late to a meeting on my conference period I tell them. Why should I be ashamed that I have to go and pump so that my baby can eat? I mean ya it came out of some sexual part of you but really when a baby is nursing it isnt sexual. I also just openly clean my breastpump parts in the teachers lounge. Its the only place that has hot water and hey would someone care if I was cleaning my babies bottles there? No! So, I just go about my business. Most people don't ask or say things like, "I remember those days". Teaching you don't work with a lot of men and the few who saw what I was doing I think learned a long time ago not to ask to many questions when a women is doing something they don't know anything about. The funniest part is I have these microsteam bags that you pop in the microwave to sterlize the parts and people always think that I am cooking popcorn and so I did have one guy ask me why I was rinsing out my popcorn bag. I told him what I was doing and I don't think he will ever ask me any questions anymore.

I find that people who have never pumped are curious about the whole process. A friend of mine was making these horrible sounds that she thought the pump would make. I was like oh my that sounds like a machine that would milk a cow! Its not quite that loud. So, I called her on the phone while I was pumping so she could here the sounds of the pump. After she hung up another friend who was sitting next to her called because she wanted to here what it sounded like. I think I might send out an email for demos in Rom 204 this next school year. I guess it does make you wonder if you have never seen it.

Another funny about this processs is that when searching for a pump I chose the one that comes in a backpack. I thought it would be easier since I knew I would be lugging a baby and a bunch of other crap. I was right it is easier and I would still chose it. However, the pump comes in a small backpack that sort of resembles a kids backpack. So, I walk into school each day with that thing on my back like I am ready for kindergarten. :)

Well I am done rambling about this. If you are thinking of returning to work and continuing to breastfeed just give pumping a shot. If you put a little thought into the idea it isn't as time consuming or hard as one might think. I have got the process down to a a quick one that requires minimal time! :) Anyway, happy pumping....

Just a swingin'

As I mentioned in my Colorado post Bailey loves to swing. Which is actually odd since she never really cared for her indoor swing. Maybe she likes to feel the cool wind in her hair..I mean on her scalp. :) Anyway, since our 1 park town doesn't have any baby swings we had to always drive to the big RC (a 2 park town) for her to swing so we decided to get her a swing of her own. We didn't really like the plastic ones at the store so we went to a park in another town and stole this one...he he just kidding. Daddy found it online and it should probably last until we have grandkids. :)

A bear just chillin in her swing!
Ah just a swinging on the porch! :)