Yummy Toes Friday

So our big news of the week is that we have rented a house here in Grand Forks.  Its a medium sized 2 bedroom and best of all, its all ours!  No more downstairs neighbor with a giant dog, no more neighbor leaving underwear in the stairwell and no more neighbor stealing our cable! Not to mention that these were the neighbors that left their guinea pig out to die in the cold last fall.

Baby Daniel has been all sorts of cute this week.  When he sleeps, he splays out and twists his head over.  Here he is napping with the blanket my mom knit for him:

He also has a new fascination for his toes.  Every time we change his diaper, he tries to eat his toes.  "What, who me?" he asks:

We will get the keys to the house by early next week, so more details and pictures to follow.

Wordless Wednesday - Daniel and the Acorn Squash

New Tools!

I received two new tools this week that will really help me out. Both from FlyLady. I like to order from her site because 1, the tools are well thought out and 2, her site is free so this is how it is supported.

One thing I needed was a water bottle.  We recently kicked the plastic water bottle habit, and are using a water filtration pitcher now which we like.  However, I really miss being able to bring water with me while shopping, and the cup by my chair keeps being knocked over by Baby Daniel.

So I turned to FlyLady again.  She has the perfect water bottle for me.  It is double walled, so it keeps the water cold, and ice cubes that I put in it at 10am are still there hours later.  It doesn't get condensation on the outside and its dishwasher safe.  It comes with several different colored wrist bands and doesn't have any logos. I also really like that it has a wide mouth for putting ice in and a narrow mouth for drinking from. Dan is eyeballing mine and I think he wants one for himself because it is not too "girly"

The Rubba Scrubba looks kinda strange, and I was not sure how I would use it, but it came in handy right away. We have a fan in our room that over the last year has gotten more and more dusty. Using a duster has never helped, and I was really just to lazy to deal with it. After opening my new Rubba Scrubba, I thought, what the heck, lets see if the testimonials are true. Here is how much dust fell off the fan after brushing it:

 I also used the Rubba Scrubba to sweep up the mess.  It will work on pet hair, counters, dishes, and anything else that needs scrubbing.  My favorite feature is that it can be washed in the top rack of the dishwasher to sanitize!  Here is the fan all cleaned up:

I can't wait to see how many uses I can put this to!


(This review was of items that I purchased myself, and I was not ask to do this review by anyone)

What's For Dinner? Creamy Italian Chicken

Part of my morning routine (thanks Flylady!) is asking "what's for dinner?" early in the day.  This is a recipe that I first found in a 5-ingredient slow cooker cookbook and it is one of our favorites.  Easy, and I usually have these ingredients on hand.

You need a package of chicken breasts, 3-4, and 1 packet of Italian Dressing Mix.  Put the chicken in the slow cooker on low.  Mix the dressing packet with 1/4 cup of water and pour over the chicken.  Cook for 3-4 hours on low or 2 hours on high.

After 3-4 hours, remove the chicken to a cutting board or plate and shred with forks.

Once shredded, put back in slow cooker with the liquid still in there.  Mix 1 package of cream cheese (softened) with 1 can of cream of chicken and mix in with shredded chicken.  Cook for another hour, then serve over rice or egg noodles.

You can find my version of this recipe here.

Emotional Monday

Well, I am more of my father's daughter than I realize sometimes.  I got so exited about a possible new house to rent, that I was ready to rearrange our whole lives in one week to get it.  Its all I could think about for 2  days, and I was sure it was the one for us.  Then it was gone, and I was sad.

Its a really good thing my husband is so even tempered.  He really helps balance out my occasional craziness.  We like to try and imaging how our personalities will merge in our son.

Speaking of our son, Baby Daniel has discovered anger.  He spits when I am not delivering milk fast enough, and some of his screams are downright primal!  Needless to say, his temper does not result in me moving any faster for him. I try to explain that spitting is not very attractive, but he just grins at me.

We Will Survive!

I am surviving my husband being gone all week, and I survived my dentist visit today, (I got Novocaine and drilled but I didn't cry!).  I also survived Baby pooping through his clothes right after we left the house today and changing him in the car.

But it could be worse, I could be my husband.  Poor Dan is still working on his yearly review paper as I type this.  He is hoping to finish by midnight.  I have had moments this week were I felt very martyr-like while supporting him, which is not really supportive.  Its a lot harder this year since we have the baby to take care of as well.  I am really proud of Dan for working as hard as he does.  He really pushes for perfection in his work, and is never satisfied that he has done enough.  But I know we will survive this too, and that I am with him all the way. (but at times like this, I am a PHD Widow!)

Bread and Eggs

This week has been off to a good start, despite a sore throat I am dealing with.  On Monday, Baby Daniel and I drove out to Larimore to pick up some eggs.  My friend Anna introduced me to a lady in her church who raises chickens.  We got to see the flock and she also showed us the baby chicks.  Daniel got to pet one and it was so cute!  Then I spent a really nice evening with Anna and her sister just talking and playing with the baby.

On Tuesday, I still feel pretty bad, but thanks to the habits that Flylady is teaching me, I still managed to get through most of my morning routine.  Honestly, if I didn't get dressed, make the bed, start the laundry and wipe down the bathroom, I would actually feel worse.

Daniel took a nice long nap in the middle of the day, so I finally tackled bread making.  I stole borrowed my mom's bread mixer that I used growing up.  (I even sold extra bread to our neighbors when I was 11) Thankfully, we had found the original recipe for whole wheat bread, and as I made it, the steps came back to me.  Our recipe uses honey as the sweetener, and I found local ND honey at our local co-op.

Dinner was a new recipe, Peanut Butter Noodles.  It sounds crazy, but this was the first Asian inspired meal that I have made from scratch.  We both really liked it and I will make it again.

Avocado Saturday

Every other month I get to go to my Stampin' Up stamp club where I get to work on cards and projects with some lady friends of mine.  Daniel came with me since Dan is working on a paper, but Baby was very good today and even took a couple of naps while I was there.  I was able to get several cards cut out and ready to assemble.  Meeting with the other ladies (all mothers) is so much fun and Deb our leader has so many good projects to share.

I also earned my third Swagbucks Amazon.com $5 gift card today!  Woot woot!  Its been a lot of fun hunting codes, referring friends and using the search bar to earn some prizes.

We gave Daniel a taste of avocado today!  He really isn't sure about this new taste, but he didn't spit it out.

Beautiful Baby Thursday

Well, spring is still pretty chilly, so we have not been able to take a walk this week.  I think we need to do that soon. Thankfully, the creams are starting to work, and we are staying ahead of the eczema.  Even though Baby has been fussy this week, he is still really cute.  Daniel likes to suck on his lower lip, and its a funny face.

Dan has been buried in research for a paper that is due this month, so we have not seen him very much.  I am so grateful to be home with our son and also being able to keep a clean house and make meals for Dan.  Dan works so hard every day, and I want to support him as much as I can.  The funny thing is, he still supports me!  He calls during the day to check in with us, and he helps me emotionally when I am tired and stressed.  Those of you that know Dan know his love of Coke, so even though I know its bad for him, I still buy it for him.  Sometimes its the little things that make life worth living.

Poor Baby

On Tuesday, Daniel spent the day at a friend's house while I went to work (I did a shift swap so I can have Saturday off).  He did really good, but came home in new clothes.  Ashley was very kind and gave us some of her son's clothes because Daniel kept busting the buttons on his outfit.  One of the new outfits is an 18 month size!  Our 5 month old sure is a chunk, so that has been one of his nicknames, "Chunk".

Unfortunately, he has developed eczema on his little cheeks and now he has started scratching them.  We are trying out Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Moisture Cream and also Triple Paste Triple Cream.  Both are helping quite a bit, but until he heals more, we have to put socks on his hands at night.  Poor baby!

I like both of the creams because they are scent free, but they are a little different.  The Aveeno cream is like a very thick lotion, and it absorbs into the skin pretty fast.  It is definitely not greasy and I think it helps with the itching because of the oatmeal in it.  The Triple Cream is cool because it is the same brand as the diaper paste we use that really worked for us.  It provides a better barrier on the skin, but it is a lot more greasy due to the petroleum.  We are not sure which one works the best because we use both right now, but I think that is OK because they help in different ways.

Now that baby is in bed for the night, I am really psyched to start my new book.  We just got the next Dresden book in the series, and it looks like it is going to be really cool.  Dan and I read the series together, but he can't start it until after April due to the deadline on a paper he has.  It will be really, really hard not to tell him all about it!

This picture is Daniel waking up from a nap.  The blanket is one that my mom knitted for him.

Sunshine Monday

Well, I was asking for it. Baby Daniel and I were playing together, and I was lifting him over my head when he spit up in my hair. At least it wasn’t my mouth! (yet)

He is still a first class screecher. I went outside to get the mail and I could hear him from the driveway! I know I complain about our neighbors a lot, but this is sort of our revenge.

Dinner on Monday was our new favorite pasta dish. I love it because it is easy, fast, cheap and really, really good. It’s called Quick Creamy Spinach and Tomato Pasta and I have linked to my custom version of this. Another reason that it works for us is because I usually have these ingredients on hand.

Coupon Organizer Review

After a couple months of couponing, and having a lot of success, I decided it was time for a proper organizer.  I had been using a small one from the dollar bin, but it only had 5 pockets and no labels.

I like supporting craftsmen whenever I can, so I went shopping on Etsy.  After reviewing the options, I settled on Glowgirl.  My order shipped in 24 hours and I received it via USPS in a few days.

I love it!  Its cute and very functional.  It will attach to a cart easily, and she provided lots of tab labels so that I could customize it to my needs.  Its also very well constructed and will last a long time.  Remember Etsy if you want something handmade and very cute for your home!

This review was written by me and I was not asked to write this review, nor was I provided any compensation for this review.