Partially Hydrogenated Crap

I am a big Dr. OZ fan.  I think his book "YOU on a Diet" is great.  I think there is something to be said for all the crap that goes into processed food.  I know there is nothing new to anyone reading this.  People have been talking about partially hydrogenated whatever for a while now.  But do you even realize how much stuff it is in.  News flash......it is the third ingredient in my yummy Coffee-mate (oh crap - I really like this stuff)! The first two ingredients are water and corn syrup!  Ooops!  I'm usually pretty good at reading the labels.  So anyway, I am trying to rid our house of processed foods with or without the partially hydrogenated stuff.  It is really much harder than I thought processed food makes my life SO much easier.  So I'm taking baby steps.  The biggest processed food in my husbands diet is Caesar Dressing, it is the only dressing I have ever seen him eat.  I decided that I could just make my own.  At least once a week I'm going to try and make something that I would normally buy processed (although I'm not sure how I'm going to do this with my son's goldfish that he loves...) and I'll share it with you! 

My Caesar dressing was pretty good.  I don't think I would want to eat it from a jar anymore and my husband agrees!  It wasn't too bad to make either.  Now, there was a mess and some chopping that I had to do but overall, pretty easy.  I didn't use one recipe, I looked up a couple on the internet and then made my own, so here it is!  I guess it is kind of cheating because I use Mayo, but I checked the ingredients, not TOO bad (minus the fat!)  I'm not claiming this is a healthy recipe as far as fat and calories, but it has to be better for you than the jarred stuff!  Try it sometime! P.S. It is also Gluten free.

Caesar Dressing
3/4 c Mayo
3 tbs half and half
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
3 cloves of garlic (diced small) - I used my slap chop worked great
(you can leave garlic out or reduce if you are not a garlic lover)
salt and pepper to taste
3 anchovies (diced small)
1 tbs anchovy paste
(again I guess you could leave out the anchovy stuff if you don't like it, but normal bottled Caesar dressing has it, so you will probably like it, it really isn't too fishy)
1 tbs lemon juice
1-2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

 Mix everything together and you are done!  Just be careful with adding salt since the anchovies are usually salted as well.  I tend to lean on the side of not even adding the salt.  You can always put some on your salad.  You probably get more bang for your buck by just adding it on your salad if you want it.  That way you are not adding it to the dressing and the salad.  On a side note - I feel the same way about salting pasta.  I find it completely unnecessary, although if I had a dollar for every time a chef on a cooking show said, "add salt to the pasta, it is your only opportunity to flavor the spaghetti" I would be rich!  Just ad salt to your meal if you need it.  We add so much salt to everything - where does the madness end!  Anyway, I don't know why I get so upset when I see people salting pasta, I just think it ads unnecessary sodium.   I'll get of my pasta salt soap box now. (Especially since I am a salt lover)!


 

Motivation

I just cannot get motivated to get back to the gym!  I was doing SO well and after I ran my 5K I slowly just died out.  I have a TRI to do in 11 weeks.  I REALLY need to get back into this.  The funny thing is, I know that once I start I will feel so much better I just don't know what is holding me back.  All I really want to do is eat chocolate cake and eggos all day!  HA! That would be a really bad idea (but soooo good)!

I had a great Mother's day, how about everyone else?  I got a Pandora bracelet.  I never thought I would be the person who would get rings with my kids birthstones or a necklace, etc...."Mom jewelery" we will call it.  But now that I have kids I want it!  I've convinced myself that the Pandora stuff is way cooler (although my husband disagrees).  On the bracelet I got three charms, one from each kid and Pepper!  I love it, I cannot wait to get more charms.  I also had breakfast in bed, my first time ever!  What a surprise!  I guess I am just spoiled :)  After all of that my Mom, Dad, and sister came over and we enjoyed a nice lunch.  I couldn't have asked for a better Mother's day.   I hope all you other mothers out there had a fantastic mother's day! 

HA!

I thought the mother's out there would appreciate this!

Cloth Diapering - Update

So I've included a link to a helpful website for anyone who is considering or is cloth diapering.  It is a marketplace and a great place to ask questions and get a lot of responses!

I put my oldest in cloth diapers this morning.  So far, surprisingly, he doesn't seem to care.  He did a funny "load" walk when I first put it on but now, he is playing in the mud like nothing is different.  Although, after the load he had this morning, I'm not sure I want to cloth diaper with him!  He is a pretty regular pooper though, so I guess I could always cheat and just put him in the cloth after he has pooped!

My last load of laundry (with a lot more diapers) didn't come out as well.  They smelled a little like pee.  Which to me is gross.  So I've gotten some good Mommy feedback and product feed back and I think I am much better prepared for my next washing.  I guess going from washing 7 diapers to 20 needs a little different technique.   The customer service from the diapers I bought and the laundry soap has been great.  So I have a new strategy for washing the diapers next time.  We will see how that goes.  I guess it is a learning process.  I used the dry bags for the week and I don't know if that contributed to the smell....But I really like the dry bags, they actually hold in the smell.  I'm impressed by that.  10 stinky diapers in a bag in my kitchen and they held the smell better than my diaper genie. 

So here are the products I am recommending so far:
1. Swaddlebees and Blueberry cloth diapers (I have the pocket diapers) but I also haven't tried any others so I have nothing to compare them to, but I like them.  Also, great customer service if you are having problems with them.

2.  Planet wise wet bags - GREAT!  Even if you are not cloth diapering, these bags are perfect for the summer beach/pool trips.  WILL NOT LEAK MOISTURE!  Perfect wet bag.  You can also use smaller ones for disposable diapers to keep the smell out of your car when traveling and you don't have access to a trash.  This bags are very high up on my list of great products.  Oh, and you can just throw them in the wash with the rest of your things and they clean up great.

3.  Charlie's Soap (laundry detergent) - great "green" product but it also really cleans well.  I use it for all our laundry now.  While it doesn't leave a sent - really nothing but the smell of your clothes, I really like it.  Perfect for baby clothes and strong enough to get the stains out.  Also, they make an All purpose cleaner that I used to get the yellow paint off of my car after backing up into a yellow pole in the parking lot.  SOOOOO, it is a multifunctional product!  Also, Charlies is a GREAT company.  They will help you with how to use their products and give you advice on how to get other stains out.  So far, the advice has been great!  I've gotten two grease stains out.

GOOD LUCK!

If you know of any other great cleaning products or diapering products please leave the name and why you like it in the comment section!  Thanks ;)

Mother of the Year!

So, anyone else experiencing "mommy brain"?  It is the wonderful phenomenon where once you have kids your brain goes to the crapper.  Actually, I think it starts going to the crapper when you are pregnant.  I forget EVERYTHING.  I'm pretty sure that my mind is so focused on not forgetting the kids and getting everything they need that I cannot remember anything else.  That is my theory anyway.  Anybody else have a theory?  I'd love to hear it!  Does it ever go away?  I was forgetful to begin with, now I'm a mess!

And on the topic of my forgetful, "mommy brain" I did something today that is going to qualify me for mother of the year (sorry all those other mothers that are reading, you are now out of the running).  Here is a picture of my sons in their stroller that I purchased when we found out we were having number 2:

To fold up this stroller the little seat in the back tucks in and the whole stroller folds in half.  Now imagine you put your littlest (the one in the back) in the stroller first WITHOUT locking the stroller after unfolding it, then returning to the car to get your oldest.  Yes, you guessed correctly.  The stroller folded in half with the littlest inside.  There was crying, but no injuries, only a scared little 8 month old.  HOW DID I FORGET TO LOCK THE STROLLER?  I blame the Mommy brain.  I was too focused on getting my oldest out and moving along before we got hit in the parking lot or blown away (isn't this wind crazy?).

So there you  have it.  I win, for today.  Everyone else can retract their applications.  I am Mother of the Year.  Don't worry, I'm sure there will be a lot more reasons for my big win.

Let me know your "mother of the year" stories.  I hope you enjoyed mine!

P.S.  Here is the littlest in one of the designs of the cloth diapers.  Cute huh?

"It's the most wonderful time of the day...."

Do you remember the Staples commercial from our childhood?  If not let me refresh your memory.  There is a man dancing around the store waving back-to-school supplies in front of his children (who are not happy) while the Christmas song, "It's the most wonderful time of the year," plays in the background. It really is genius.  I didn't realize how fantastic a commercial it was until I had kids.  Now my kids do not go to school yet, but sometimes when I put them to bed I hear in my head, "its the most wonderful time of the day," and I smile.  On really long days, I even sing it out loud.  My husband laughs, I laugh... HAHAHA funny. But he has no idea how true that sentence can be sometimes! 

The Potty Competition

After the 2 year check up for my oldest the doctor told me not to worry about potty training.  It isn't a big deal.  She said (and I quote) "He's not going to be 18 and still in diapers".  But she mentioned maybe just getting a potty and having it around.  You never know he might be interested in it.  Sounds good to me.

About a week later I went to the baby store to pick up a potty.  I got the Baby Bjorn potty.  Apparently they aren't just baby carriers anymore!  But it looked easy to clean.  No crevices for nasties to get stuck in.  Really, that is all I care about.  While I was there I learned something very important.  I AM FAILING AT THE POTTY COMPETITION.  Another Mother noticed me buying a potty and said that I shouldn't be worried about the potty competition between mothers.  My son will go to the bathroom when he is ready.  Her daughter did.  WHAT?  What I did not realize was that how good of a mother (as perceived by other mothers) is when my son potty trains.  It is like an unwritten Mom competition.  Everyone says "Oh your son will go when he is ready," but what they are really thinking is, "HA, my daughter started using the potty at 16 months"!!!  Honestly, if my son was potty trained at 16 month, I'm pretty sure I would tell everyone.  I'd actually probably just have a shirt made so everyone could see what a good mother I am!  So if your kid potty trained early, feel free to brag in the comment section - I would.

Well, I've come to terms with the fact that I am probably going to lose this one.  I'm okay, I've moved on.  Sometimes when I'm changing an especially nasty diaper I think longingly about the day when I won't have to do that anymore.  But then again, with potty training brings, getting the kids all packed up, out the door, and then a mile down the road, "MOM, I have to go to the bathroom!"  It really is a catch 22.  Ahhh!  The joys of parenthood.

So I brought the potty home and put it in the downstairs bathroom.  My son sat on it the first time we went in the bathroom.  Yet another reminder that parenthood was the end of privacy.  I was so excited he sat on it.  I gave him a sticker for sitting on the potty (potty training 101 - reward good behavior) which he ate.  Okay, no stickers....

 He are still just sitting on the potty when I go to the bathroom, although now he drags the potty over to me so we are toe to toe and just stairs at me.  I convince myself that he is learning.  Please let him be learning.  I'm sure he will be trained in no time........

Some days I'm sure the pediatrician is wrong....he WILL be 18 and still in diapers!