The time finally came for Claire to begin solids. We waited until the 6 month mark to introduce any type of solid and when it hit, I was excited! Our first adventure was oatmeal. I didn’t make my own on this. I mixed it with some breast milk and gave it to Claire. Her reaction? She didn’t really have one. This is how I know she has her father’s personality. I tend to react first while my husband likes to take in his surroundings then react. Claire just took it in. No reaction. Here’s a few pictures:

Feeding herself

Let me take a pic mom!

A few nights later we tried avocado. I mixed the avocado with milk. At first, I didn’t get a reaction. And then I got this:

Not a fan…

I hope I don’t get this reaction with all my cooking…

Posted under Me

I’ve been absent from my blog for quite awhile. I was able to take a week long vacation back in my hometown in Nebraska. I spent lots of time with family. We celebrated my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary, I met my sister’s boyfriend of one year and threw my sister-in-law a baby shower! It was such an amazing week. Many family members were able to meet Claire for the first time and everyone commented on how cute she was…

I was the hostess of the baby shower along with of my sister. We decided to go with a rubber ducky themed shower. Thanks to Pinterest, I found a lot of ideas for the shower. I found a new frosting recipe, diaper cake directions, punch recipe, etc. Just to warn you, this is a very long post with lots of pictures!

First, I came across a punch recipe that sparked the idea of having a rubber ducky themed shower.

Ducky Baby Shower Punch

Source: Tidy Mom

Ingredients

• 1 packet blue, unsweetened Kool-Aid (Look for Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade or Berry Blue flavors)
• 1 (2 liter) bottle Ginger Ale
• 1 (64 oz) bottle White Grape Juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 scoops pineapple sherbet
• 2-3 Rubber Duckies (make sure they float – bathtub toys)
• maraschino cherries (optional for garnish)
• orange slices (optional for garnish)

Directions

1. Chill ginger ale and grape juice over night
2. Remove sherbet from freezer about 1/2 hour before serving punch to soften
3. In a large bowl, combine Kool-Aid packet, sugar and chilled juice. Stir to blend.
4. Slowly add chilled ginger ale.
5. Float 8 scoops of softened sherbet on top
6. Add Rubber Duckies (don’t forget to wash before using)
7. garnish cups with cherries and orange slices

Conclusion: It tasted great but ended up looking like dirty bath water. My mother picked up the ingredients and even though she did get white grape juice, it wasn’t really white. With the ginger ale and juice a light brown color, the bath water turned dirty blue. If you ever make this, make sure you find a clear ginger ale or clear juice. However, it was neat how the sherbet made bubbles when added to the punch. It made the punch look like a little bubble bath!

Kera Mashek made a diaper cake for my baby shower at KWWL. I had some leftover diapers and toys, so I decided to try my hand at a diaper cake. My source: Littlemisstomato. My results:

Turned out great!

I used size 1 & newborn diapers, one roll of ribbon and extras I had lying around. Instead of inserting more diapers inside the cake, I used baby wash and shampoo. I ended up using all my leftover diapers and didn’t have to buy any. Perfect!

Finally, I decided to make cupcakes and use them to form a rubber ducky. We expected a small number of guests so we made 24 cupcakes. We took the easy path and made the cupcakes from the box. But I insisted on making homemade frosting. I always heard how delicious buttercream frosting is so I found a recipe and went with it.

Fluffy Buttercream Frosting

Source: Cooking Classy

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature (3 sticks)
• 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (use clear if desired)

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle or whisk attachment whip butter on medium high speed (if using whisk attachment whip on high speed) until nearly white and very fluffy, about 7 – 8 minutes, frequently scrapping down the sides of the bowl.
2. Add in powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until blended, then increase speed to medium and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 – 6 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl.
3. Immediately spread over cooled cake or cupcakes.

Quack!

Conclusion: SSSSOOOO GOOD!!! The Pinterest pin on this frosting said it “melts in your mouth”. Boy were they right! This frosting is absolutely delicious. And why shouldn’t it be? It’s made of sugar and butter! Absolutely delicious. Easy to spread and fluffy. I will now always use this recipe for my cupcakes and cakes.

To sum it up, my week (+ a few days) in Nebraska was great. Claire was able to spend some quality time with her grandparents. I saw some old friend and relatives. If only family could be closer every day of the year…

My mom & mommy-to-be with baptism outfits made from my mom’s wedding dress.

My sis, sister-in-law, me and Claire

Posted under Me, Recipes

Answer: F1. This is still the only tornado on record in Iowa in the month of February. It’s hard to believe that spring is just around the corner.

P.S. Sorry I’ve been a little behind on posting recipes. I have tried a bunch of new ones but unfortunately we’re going through a sleeping phase with Claire. She only takes 30-40 minute naps during the day and is up every 3-4 hours at night. I’ve been trying to sleep when she sleeps so I’m not a walking zombie. Sssoooo excited for this phase to end…

Posted under Me, Weather

Into cloth diapers that is. After much debate with my husband and a lot of research, we have decided to take on cloth diapering. My sister-in-law has been cloth diapering for a few years now and she’s the one who got me interested in the idea. So while I was pregnant, I did some research on the whole cloth diapering world. I discovered that these aren’t your mom’s diapers, these are much more convenient and high tech. While one can still do the prefolds of old, most cloth diapers involve a simple waterproof layer and soaker layer. Stuff, diaper, remove, wash, repeat. My sister-in-law provided me with a few she didn’t use and I purchased a few myself. I can say that after a month of learning, we are now solely cloth diapering.

There are a lot of pros and cons to cloth diapering and I thought I’d share what I’ve discovered along the way, in case you or anyone you know is interested in the cloth way of diapering.

Pros:

• Cost. While the upfront cost is usually over $200, in the long run we’ll be saving lots of money. Especially if we have another little one. These diapers can be used for years over and over again. So instead of throwing away money every diaper change, we’re saving! And the cloth diapers can be worn all the way up to potty training!
• Environment. There’s a lot of debate about this. While a lot of washing is done to take care of cloth diapers, disposable diapers are filling up landfills and take a long time to decompose.
• Ease: I started with disposable diapers and found them so easy. I was a little afraid to go to cloth because I thought they would be harder to do. I was wrong! It’s not hard at all. Since Claire is breastfed, all I have to do is take off the diaper and throw it in our diaper pail. Every other day I do a load of diapers in the wash and ta-da! Ready to go!
• Designs: There are a LOT of cute patterns. In the summer, I think Claire will be running around in just her diaper and a t-shirt because I’ll want to show off her cute diapers
• Chemicals: There are much fewer chemicals in cloth diapers. After multiple washes, you’re just left with plain old cotton and hemp. Claire had a very bad reaction to Pampers Swaddlers and even though we found another brand that didn’t give her problems, I felt more comfortable switching to cloth. We have yet to have a nasty diaper rash (We did have a little one once but that was my fault. I kept her in her diaper for a little too long, I guess.)

Cons:

• Cost: Yeah, the upfront cost is a lot but like I said you make up for it later.
• Leaking: I had a lot of leaking at first. Turns out I needed to put another soaker pad in her diaper. Now I rarely get any blowouts and if I do, it’s usually around her legs because she’s got little legs. I get many more blow outs in disposables and those are usually up the back
• Laundry: I have to do 2 washes and 1 rinse to get the diapers extra clean. And no one likes extra laundry…
• Extras: You have to buy special detergent which is somewhat pricey and a diaper sprayer (for when we start solids). Just little things which add to the upfront sticker shock.
• Big Butt: Cloth diapers have much more padding than disposables so Claire has a bit more padding back there.

Honesty,cloth diapering isn’t for everyone. It takes commitment to do laundry and deal with poop a little more closely.  But I’m glad we have switched. We’ll see if we’re still sticking with it for the next year!

Our entire collection!

My spiderbaby.

Posted under Me, Other

Claire is tired from all her traveling but would like to wish you and your families a Merry Christmas!!

Posted under Me

Answer: 74°F. It was set on December 6, 1939 in Thurman. Sioux City also hit a high of 71°F which set an all-time record December high there. Hot, hot, hot!

On a side note, I wanted to add some thoughts on the school shooting that occurred in CT. I’ve never felt this way about past shootings. Now that I have a daughter, my entire existence is protecting her and keeping her happy. I cannot even fathom how these parents feel. To wake up today and know you have lost a piece of your heart forever. I have been fighting tears just listening to the coverage. I cannot imagine how this community feels. Claire will be getting lots of extra hugs and kisses in the next few days. All of my prayers are with the Newtown community and the families of those lost in such a brutal and horrific attack.

Posted under Me, Weather

I’m back on my regular shift! It’s actually great to be back. I missed the talks Danielle and I have along with all our behind the scene peeps. There is just a different feel on the weekend. I really enjoy it! It’s also my weather show and I can do what I want with it. Too bad the only weather to discuss today is the fog/drizzle. A good day to cuddle up with a good book or movie. It just might be a little too warm today to enjoy hot chocolate unless you’re like me. I enjoy hot chocolate any time of the year. I will drink hot chocolate in the middle of summer! Liquid chocolate? Can’t go wrong there…

Here was today’s weather trivia question:

Answer: 18″! This storm also broke single-day snowfall records in Decorah and Waukon. Decorah received 14.8 inches and Waukon and Indpendence recorded 14 inches. Waterloo and Charles City recorded 13.5 inches. 18.6 inches was recorded in Dubuque. Elkader and Iowa Falls recorded 19 inches!!! Winds on December 1 were also over 40 mph so travel across the state was at a stand still that day. Completely different story today!

Posted under Me, Weather

We baptized Claire at our church in Hudson this past weekend. The entire weekend I was nervous about the whole ordeal. Will she cry the whole time? Will she poop all over her christening gown? Can I get her calmed down if she starts to fuss? Will I trip and fall in high heels (which I haven’t worn in months)?

I am happy to report that everything was perfect. My entire family and my husband’s family made the 5-6 hour trip to see Claire baptized in the church. She was awake when we first got to church but slept the entire service. Even when water was placed on her head, she slept like an angel. Besides her being perfect, it was a great weekend. I got to see my nieces and nephews whom I hadn’t seen since March. We were all able to hang out together, catch up and even watch Husker football Saturday. It does make the distance seem farther and I miss my family a lot. We just have to make every little memory count.

Oh and her christening gown has a little story with it. It’s made from the wedding dress of Mark’s mom’s wedding dress. It was absolutely gorgeous and everyone commented on how pretty it was. One day Claire will pass it on to her children.

Here are some pictures of my big family:

Our little family

Mark's family

Claire, me, my mom and my grandma=four generations

My family

Posted under Me

I’d like to apologize to everyone who follows my blog. As you can imagine, it’s been a very busy 7 weeks. Wow. I can’t believe it’s been that long. Next week I will be rejoining the work force. And boy am I nervous. I’m nervous about leaving my precious daughter with complete strangers for eight to nine hours. I’m nervous about having an emotional break down being away from my daughter for so long. I’m nervous about continuing to breastfeed. I’m nervous about all I have to catch up on when I return to work. I don’t think a mother is ever truly ready to return to work after the birth of their first child. But like it or not…it’s around the corner for us.

So bloggers…I’ve decided to share with you the story of Claire’s journey into this world. And boy was it tough on mommy…

11:30 PM-9/24/12

• I woke up to go to the bathroom and noticed some bleeding. I called Labor & Delivery to make sure this was normal. They assured me that it was completely normal and since I wasn’t having any intense contractions to just stay at home

11:40 PM

• Contraction started. 4-5 minutes apart and lasting about 40 seconds. From our birthing class, I knew that since I could move and talk through the contractions that this was just the first phase of labor. So I spent most of the night watching TV (mainly The Office) and even went for a walk on our treadmill. I know I should have tried to sleep but I was having back labor and I just couldn’t get comfortable. I let Mark sleep though. I figured one of us should be well rested for the task ahead.

6 AM-9/25/12

• My contractions were coming 3-4 minutes apart and still 40 seconds long. It was getting a little harder to talk through them so I called Labor & Delivery again. Since I wanted to try an all natural birth, they suggested I remain at home as long as possible.

8 AM-9/25/12

• I decided I was sick of waiting around at home. I wanted to know how far along I was. So we packed up the vehicle and headed into the hospital. I was 3 cm and having “strong” contractions according to the nurse. I was then admitted.

8:30 am to 9 PM

• Fun times…NOT! My contractions continued to intensify. Mark and I spent the first hours walking around the hallways. A tour group even got to witness my agony Eventually, walking was getting more difficult so we spent the rest of the time in our room walking and switching labor positions. During this time, the doctor noted that Claire was likely sunny-side up or her back was against my spine. That positioning explained the slow progression of labor and my back labor. Luckily, Claire showed no stress. I, on the other hand, was losing energy and caved in to the epidural.

9 PM

• I was 7, “maybe 8 cm”, according to the doctor when I received the epidural at 9 PM. I was finally able to get some sleep but only about 3 hours. Unfortunately, the epidural didn’t numb everything so I woke up to contractions. Not as strong as previously, but still enough to keep me awake. Wonderful…

3 AM-9/26/12

• My water had broken sometime between 9 PM and 3 AM. Unfortunately, I wasn’t progressing. The next step was to add Pitocin to the medicine mix. And that was the ticket!

9:45 AM

• Time to push! The good thing about still feeling my contractions is that pushing went quickly. Claire flipped herself into the right position for delivery and she was born at 10:28 AM. She weighed 7 lbs 7.9 oz and was 20 1/2″ long. After 35 hours of labor, I was so happy to finally meet my little girl.

We’ve had  a learning 7 weeks. Becoming a mother just felt natural to me. Of course, there have been times I’ve wanted to cry along with Claire but I couldn’t be happier. She gives my life a whole new meaning and enjoys challenging me everyday. I love seeing the little milestones she takes. Her smile is so rewarding (I just wish I could catch it on camera). I’m excited to watch her grow and shape her personality. I love you, Claire even if you put me through 35 hours of labor

  

Claire's first cry

One Happy Family

First Bath at Home

One Month!

First Halloween! Our Little Pumpkin.

Now I Love Bath time!

Mommy and Me

Posted under Me

We have Baby’s room 90% done. I’m still looking for an end table to put next to the recliner and a few other odds and ends need to be added. I can’t believe that she could arrive at anytime. My husband and I are both nervous and excited. But everything has been checking out great. My blood sugar levels, while there have been a few spikes, are great.  I’m always hearing how I’m so ‘huge’. But doctors say she’s measuring right on track and my weight gain has been within the advised limits. I just have a short torso to fit so much baby and baby ‘stuff’. The doctors also see no reason to induce early so she’ll be cooking until she decides it’s time. And we can’t wait until that day!!!

Hope you enjoy the look into her room!

East Wall. The picture is of my family farm back in Nebraska.

My mother made these to match the crib set. Talented isn't she??

West wall

Her name is still a secret...

But...here's an example of one of the letters in her name above the crib. Any guesses?

Posted under Me