Weekend in Review: 4.28-4.29

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Kelly

Happy Monday!

It was a great weekend, even with a pretty rainy day on Sunday.

I got my hair cut for the first time in almost a year on Saturday morning! Pa got his cut while I nursed Lula in the car, then I got mine done while he sat in the salon with her on his lap. I was a little uncertain as to how she would do but since the place was filled with really sweet ladies, she was actually passed around and loved on the whole time!

channeling her inner Sherlock Holmes

I know I have mentioned that I am a knitter, and I am one, I swear…this weekend I started and finished a quick project which I will post in the next week or two.I usually nurse Lula to sleep at night but there are going to be a few upcoming evenings when I won’t be here for bedtime. On Saturday night, I started getting worried about what that could mean for me, Lula, and Pa so we started sleep training her. More on that later but so far, it’s going surprisingly well!

Sunday was a super rainy day. Without kids, these are the perfect excuse to curl up on the sofa with a good book or movie and just chill. With a kid, rainy days can be torture because you are trapped inside. With what little wisdom and experience Pa and I have gained in the last 7 months, we knew we had to get out of the house for a little while. We ended up taking Lula to Target and it was the perfect way to break up the day. No matter how many cars are in the parking lot at Target, it’s never busy inside, I swear!

We tried giving Lula avocado last night and she was not a fan. In fact, I believe she gagged for a moment. It was pretty cute!

I am not into disclosing numbers but Sunday mornings are when I choose to weigh myself and yesterday, I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight! That was exciting for me and I’m pleased with the progress I have made.

Completely unrelated to anything I just wrote about, the bumblebees are taking over our wisteria wall- check out this fatty!Have a great week everybody! Lula’s 7 month post is coming soon!

Our Garden Part II

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Kelly

Our garden is officially planted! Whoohoo!

We are beginning to see shoots coming up where seeds were dropped and buried and so far, even through a few frosts,

chilly catnip and strawberries

our plants are thriving.

mr. robin reminds me of The Secret Garden

Here’s what we’ve seen so far:

squash- these babies erupt out of the soil

bursting forth

romaine

leafy lettuce

onions

peas

kale- so cute

spinach

turnips

gonna have to thin this row!

cilantro

immature

mature

During the summer, I try to not buy vegetables but simply use what is ripe in the garden. It sounds nice to say that I’m only doing it to eat what produce is in season but the real reason I do it is frugality.

As my garden grows, I hope to create some garden-centered meals and post them here. My goal is to create dinners that are quick, easy, and utilize what is already in my cupboard/garden/fridge.

Expect to see a lot of squash in the early months and peppers and tomatoes as summer begins to drag on.Have a great weekend!

Lula loves grass

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Kelly

We spent a little time hanging outdoors today. It’s fun now that I can plop Lula down and let her explore her environment…and she wasted no time.

What is this?

Should I try it? I'm going to try it.

I love it!

I couldn’t resist the foot- she really does love grass!

Mock Clif bars: Coconut chocolate chip

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Kelly

I know I’ve mentioned my affinity for coconut before- see here and here. Recently, the Clif bar company came out with a coconut chocolate chip bar and I was happy to try it out. Wow. Other than the holiday flavors, this kind is definitely the best I have had and I would eat one every day- if I could afford to!

I decided to attempt to replicate these bars at home. I knew I wouldn’t achieve perfection but I wanted to make something similar.

In the interest of full disclosure, my first attempt at these was a failure.

it looks good...

I think I knew this batch was not destined for greatness when the batter was so thick that I had to press it into the pan. I couldn’t turn back at that point so I baked them anyway. I’m still eating these bars and they’ve grown on me- they are much more cake-like than a Clif bar. But, I wanted to make something a little more palatable to share. The second time around, success.

Mock Clif bars: Coconut Chocolate Chip

What allows these to have such a strong coconut flavor without too much coconut is using coconut extract. I can’t afford the real stuff but the two buck bottle at Wal-Mart works for me!

2 flax eggs- 6 tablespoons of water + 2 tablespoons ground flax (or Egg replacer or eggs)

1/4 cup maple syrup these are not very sweet at all- add more based on your preference

1/2 cup coconut milk you might be able to replace with coconut yogurt- let me know if that works!

1 teaspoon coconut extract

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

3/4 cup whole wheat flour you could use coconut flour or some protein powder here instead but a. it’s expensive and b., I wanted to use what I had on hand

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/3 cup chopped chocolate chips

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tablespoon coconut milk

+Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

+Set up flax eggs I found this helpful link- I didn’t wait an hour, just long enough until I had to use them

Before

after

+Sift or whisk oats, flour, soda, salt and coconut together

+Mix “eggs”, maple syrup, coconut milk, and coconut extract together

+Combine dry and wet, mix+Add chocolate chips+Pour batter into an 8X8 baking pan

+Bake for 15 minutes+While bars are cooling, whisk powdered sugar and coconut milk together+Pour frosting into plastic bag, snip a tiny cut in the corner of the bag and ice away!

These are no Clif bar but they are a tasty replacement with a delicious coconut flavor- enjoy!

Weekend in Review: 4.21-4.22

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Kelly

Well, good morning everybody! Whew, another weekend gone. Ours was fairly laid back in the RMR household.

We actually finished planting the garden mid-week and it felt great to have that behind us.

broccoli

Now plants can take root and begin to grow!

We planted tomatoes, broccoli, jalapeno peppers, bell pepper and purple bell peppers- I really hope the purple ones turn out!

before

after

Saturday morning there was frost- what!? We didn’t cover anything since we have been in spring mode for a while but fortunately, all of the plants survived.

We spent time with family on Saturday afternoon- it was a beautiful day and we had a great time.

Lula tried oatmeal for the first time and seemed to enjoy it.

focus

She has also been doing a great job of sitting up on her own- her sense of balance seems to have arrived in the last day or two.

ain't no thang

I took some time to read her The Tale of Peter Rabbit twice yesterday while she sat up with me- it was wonderful.

We took a stroller run as a family on Sunday morning. It was cold and windy, but we all lived. I had a harder time keeping up with Pa and Lula than on our run the week before but I know I was running all out which felt great- once it was over that is.

I think I landed on a pretty good recipe for the coconut chocolate chip bars I had failed at the week before- the recipe will be coming later in the week.

success

It felt like a busy weekend and Lula, occasionally, had a tough time staying asleep over night. I am crossing my fingers it was due to being off schedule on our day out on Saturday.

Today we are going to spend a little time shopping- I really want to find an inexpensive maxi dress for summer- and I hope to get outdoors for awhile as well.

Have a great day!

Homemade Diaper Wipes

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Kelly

Making our own diaper wipes is something that Pa and I have wanted to do for awhile, especially after realizing that the natural kind we were buying at Sam’s Club cost about $15! We felt strongly that this was one more item that should be easy enough to make at home.

When it comes to researching things like this, what did people do before the Internet?

Joyful Abode was definitely my inspiration for creating the cloth wipes- mine are not beautiful but so far, they work.

I also used receiving blankets. You could easily use baby wash cloths too- those tend to be something that people have an abundance of- or at least I do. I cut up old ones that a friend gave to me. I tried to keep to the same measurements as Joyful Abode but some of mine were definitely smaller.I dusted off my sewing machine that I hadn’t used in about 8 years- what was I thinking- and settled in with my girl Lula and cat Frankie. What a cozy scene this evokes, right? Wrong. Turns out Lula was scared of the sound of the sewing machine! So much for that idea. Fortunately, babies evolve quickly and a few days later…success.I loved Joyful Abode’s idea for a zigzag stitch to finish the edges of my old receiving blankets (no serger here!) but once I did a few, it seemed like they still might fray after a wash or two due to how thin they are. Rather than redoing them later, Pa suggested I just do an easy fold over seam to keep them from fraying. No pinning necessary and these certainly don’t have to be perfect! Frankie supervised the process to ensure I didn’t mess them up too badly.Finished product- not too shabby.

Finding a solution for the diapers took a little longer. I found many recipes that used tea tree oil but I read that many babies are sensitive to tea tree oil and I was reluctant to experiment (plus I didn’t want to buy anything). I decided to use this recipe since I already had the ingredients available.Fearful of mold and since we will be tossing our wipes into the washer with our diapers every other day, I only wanted to make enough solution to last for two days of wipes. I ended up halving the recipe that I linked to above.

oil and water

It seemed to be plenty and the solution definitely soaked through all of the wipes. When I made the solution again, I ended up using 1 & 2/3 cups of hot water, 1/2 tablespoon baby oil and 1/2 tablespoon generic baby body wash to stretch everything further. I’ve been using this solution on Lula for almost a week and I am pleased with the results! I have noticed that with the last solution I made, the wipes don’t smell as fresh so I may add in a little more of the body wash and see if that remedies the problem. We are still using store-bought wipes for poopy diapers. Pa and I can’t seem to get Miss Lula clean with less than four wipes, plus, I would be rinsing the homemade wipes free of poop and I am not willing to do that much extra work. Since she poops every second day or so, I feel okay with using 12 store-bought wipes a week…for now.

There was a fair amount of up-front work involved in this project. Just getting the wipes cut and hemmed seemed to take forever but now that it’s done, it’s so easy to keep up with. The best part to me is the fact that we are saving so much money, but I have to admit, there is also a great deal of satisfaction that comes with DIY projects like this one.Have a great weekend!

Snapshots on a Thursday

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Kelly

What a day- most of it was spent at Wal-Mart (okay, it just felt that way) and we tried to get $1 sandwiches for Jimmy John’s customer appreciation day but Lula was not interested and the line out the door was looooong!

We spent some time out of doors today, mainly for watering purposes as the temperatures begin to heat up.

One of the exciting things we witnessed? The first shoots of kale! It’s teeny tiny and looks gorgeous next to the ugly soil that is our garden!

Additionally, the wisteria that covers one wall of our home is slowly beginning to blossom. If you’ve never smelled wisteria flowers, they are delicious.The blossoms are so lovely! I can’t wait to snap some more photos as these continue to come in.

Have a great evening!

Lily’s wildflower patch

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Kelly

A little over a year ago, our kitten Lily died.I still refer to her as a kitten because she never grew up- in body or in spirit. My mother-in-law found her on her back doorstep almost five years ago with a mangled tail- she was probably less than a month old. Pa and I brought her to our home and she quickly became a part of the family- she was so mischievous!

still don't know how she got up there

My sister-in-law labeled her a sprite which was an apt description.Two years ago, Pa noticed that he was cleaning out the litter box all the time and Lily was having accidents left and right. After a visit to the vet, Lily was diagnosed with kidney failure. Pa and I took it pretty hard but wanted to do the best we could for her- this included special food, medication twice daily, and lots of TLC.

She lived almost a year and a half after the initial diagnosis and our time with her was very special. Once she stopped eating and drinking and was too weak to even wash herself, we knew we weren’t doing her any favors by keeping her around- it was hard to accept but we had to do what was best for her, not us.

The vet came to our house and she was buried at the foot of our deck by our bittersweet plant with her little buddy “Buttweed”.

We had planted wildflowers in this spot before,

2008

but last year, it was even more special, knowing that we were doing it in her memory.

perfection

This year the tradition continues. We spent some time planting the wildflower patch Easter weekend and reminiscing about Lily.

It’s an easy enough project: purchase the wildflower seed mix of your choice, rake up about an inch or two of soil, sprinkle the seeds

and cover the seeds with the soil you just raked up. We also cover our wildflower plot with grass clippings- this seems to help keep some weeds at bay and also helps keep moisture in the soil. The most crucial part is ensuring that you water the patch in the first few weeks.

I love what this does to the yard as Pa and I prefer a “wild” look to a manicured one.

And when the flowers begin to bloom, from time to time, we’ll think of our little buddy Lily and the joy she brought to our lives.

Baby swimming

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Kelly

I haven’t taken the little one swimming yet- she’s got her stylish swimsuit and seems to enjoy wearing it but a fashion show is as far as we have gotten.

Before we start experimenting with the pool, I still have a few questions I am hoping people might be able to help me answer.

One: What do I use instead of a diaper? I have seen disposable swim-like diapers at Target and Wal-Mart but I’m ~~not sure I am willing to spend money on those~~ cheap. Is there something she can wear that is reusable?

Two: Has anyone taken their baby to a Waterbabies class? How did your baby do?

Three: When heading to the local pool, do you stay in the baby pool or do you sometimes bring your baby into the regular pool to float around?

Four: Do you use swimmies?

I appreciate any advice you can offer to this new mama!

Hopefully I won’t be seeing this face when we head into the water…

Weekend In Review: 4.14-4.15

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Kelly

Weekends always fly by around here. Here’s a look at what the Runmarun family did this past weekend.

Saturday, we planted the rest of our seeds in the garden.With winds gusting to 45 MPH on Sunday, we put off planting the actual plants until next weekend.

a baby

I tried to replicate coconut chocolate chip Clif bars, key word being tried. I haven’t given up though!

fail

We watched The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo in three segments (watching a two hour plus movie is a lot different when you have a baby) and I am not embarrassed to admit that we also fast-forwarded through three graphic scenes.

We had this heading our way Saturday night (no tornadoes here),

the whole family ran together Sunday morning,I started making a dress for Lula,Lula successfully rolled from her belly to her back once (now she can’t remember how to do it),I made some delicious french bread that Pa thinks is too dense,Lula wore her first tie-dye onesie,