24 July 2010

BumGenius 4.0 review link

Here is a review of the BumGenius 4.0 cloth diaper. I'm scared to try them now! I really liked the 3.0 & I really dont get why they had to discontinue them, blah. Hopefully these will suit me well, it's not like I had much time to get attached to the 3.0's but whatever.

BumGenius 4.0 review by awesome blogger

21 July 2010

Menu Plan Monday... a lil late

So, I still Menu Plan at home, but I havent posted it in a long time. I love menu planning, I just don't really see how people do it otherwise. But that's my OCD, right?

When Will turned 1 I planned all the meals & snacks for the day so that I made sure he got all the food groups he needed. Now, I'm a little more flexible. I know that each meal/snack has to have certain things.

Breakfast we have a grain, a fruit, and every other day we make eggs. Grains for breakfast vary from bagels, toast, cold cereal, & once a week I make something special like pancakes or french toast & I make enough to have that one more time during the week. Fruit is either strawberries, blueberries, applesauce, peaches or even mandarin oranges.

Lunch we have grains, veggies, protein, & dairy (sometimes). Things like sandwiches, organic mac & cheese with veggies mixed in it, or leftovers.

Snack we have fruit & a grain. Grains like whole wheat crackers, nilla wafers, teddy grahams (which are actually pretty healthy!!), goldfish, & lately he LOVES pretzels!

So, anyway for dinner this week we have...
Monday- Cheese Ravioli in marinara & mixed baby califonia veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, & carrots)
Tuesday- Taco Salad
Wednesday- Out to Eat at the Melting Pot to celebrate Corey's success at work!!!
Thursday- Baked Crispy Chicken, smashed potatoes, broccoli
Friday- Vegetarian Lasagna (ricotta & spinach)
Saturday- Leftovers
Sunday-BLTs & homemade tomato soup

I'm really looking forward to the lasagna, it's been awhile since we've had it!
Also, wanna hear some good news? I convinced Corey, my dear husband, to learn how to cook, so he can make dinner one night, every other week. lol. I know some of you are blessed with husbands who cook, but mine is scared & this is a big step for us. Usually I cook or we go out to eat! haha. I never really mind, but I think this will be good for him/us. He'll gain confidence in his abilities, we'll save money not going out to eat just because I'm too tired to cook (we are having another baby!!), & I wont have all the pressure on me. I'll let you know soon what he plans on learning next week!!

13 July 2010

Long time... Will Update

Hey Everyone!

It's been awhile since I've blogged & even longer since I've blogged about something relevant!

So first I'll update ya on Will...

16.5 month old

Things have been pretty full lately. We are on a pretty good schedule during the week, sometimes it's too much the same for ME, but it works.

Eating- Will has finally slowed down on the eating front. I've been reading since he was 1 that his appetite will decrease. I have to admit, even though I knew it was normal & what to do, I still freaked out a little. I almost started letting him snack a lot. I snapped out of it before the day was over. hehe. He still gets all of his nutrients because there is always something in each food group he'll eat. I offer a wide variety still & sometime he surprises me. The other day he ate carrots (something he hasn't ate in months) because Corey used chopsticks to feed them. He really ate 8 carrot coins!!
He is really good at using his fork now (we have these mini-metal ones), so we are moving on to regular cups. We were starting off with little bits of water at one meal a day (lunch), but I gave him some of my soda (i know, evil mom) & he was more successful. Was it because it was brown so he could see it, or because he really wanted it! haha. We aren't switching over to soda though. He doesn't like the cold water spilling on him, so I think he will get it.
Another big change on the eating front... he's in a booster now! Bye Bye highchair!

Playing- We are moving to room time! He's been having alone time in a pack-n-play since he was 8 months old, but recently he was really protesting it. So move on we must! So far I've stayed in there with him for 20 minutes at a time, to make sure he can't hurt himself & to ease him into it. Soon I'll be leaving him for longer periods of time & then start extending the amount of time he is in there. I'm aiming for about 45mins.
We have been out of the house a lot more, mostly because we try to go to the pool every afternoon. Sometimes it's stormy or I have errands I have to run during that time, but I much prefer the pool. It's so hot & muggy here it's almost his only outdoor time. blah.

Sleeping- Things are great here. He is still taking two naps (totalling 2-3 hours) & sleeping for 11-12 hours at night. I really thought with how he napped the first year of his life that he would drop the morning nap a LONG time ago, but he doesn't seem anywhere near ready still. C'est la vie! I'm not in a rush, although I see the benefits of a free morning. Maybe it's because I know with Sophia coming soon that I'll be limited again. Why get used to a freedom? haha.

Communication- Will still isn't saying very many clear words often, but he does say them sporadically. I feel like he's just a guy! Let's see the words he does say clearly enough for me to understand... hi, dadda, maa (mom), okay, no, yea, dg, talk, peese (please), aa dun (all done), & that's all I can think of. Actually, that's not bad & way better than a month ago. He does jabber a lot & uses signs (all done, outside, more, please, sorry, up, diaper, & bye).
He understands a lot & is very helpful around the house! He throws away his own diapers (that will be changing because we are switching to cloth diapers), he puts his bowl & cups in the sink, he is obsessed with swiffering (I've taken two of the metal poles out so it's his size), he cleans his spot on the table, his hands, & his seat with a rag, he brushes Molly (if she wants him to or not)... he just does a lot & I'm pretty amazed by him!

Fits- He's there! He has been building up from mini-fits that were so cute I had to hide my face so he wouldn't see me laugh/smile. Now he gets frustrated & it's totally understandable to me why he gets frustrated, but that doesn't mean I give in.

Discipline- Will has been throwing things like crazy. It's frustrating for me, because I'm already so tired from being pregnant! I will admit I need to be more consistent & I think I have chosen my guidance/discipline technique I will be sticking with. So yaye for that! I think a lot of the throwing could be solved if we could go out in the morning & get some energy out, BUT like I said it's really too hot/muggy for that. So he's in the house until 3pm way too long for a toddler boy! I'll have to figure something out.

Schedule-
7:30 (give or take 15 minutes)- wake, cuddle with mom, & a little bit of tv time
8:00- breakfast
8:30- maybe more tv time, free play/helping mom clean
9:00- independent playtime
9:30- brush teeth, read with mom
9:45-10:00 Nap #1
11:00-11:30 wake, lunch, free play
12:00 Daddy's break so play with dad,
12:30 learning time (I'll blog about this some other time), climber time
1:00-1:30- Nap #2
2:30-3:00- wake, snack, pool time/errands
5:00- play with daddy while mommy makes dinner
6:00- dinner
6:30- walk/park/errands
7:30- bath time
8:00-bedtime

Okay I'm too tired to update more... I'll update about me, Corey & Sophia tomorrow! haha