Works for Me: Co-sleeping

Princess 2 arrived on June 1st! She is doing great and God has blessed me with an easy recovery from the c-section. I feel almost back to normal now.

But as we all know, anyone with a newborn is going to be low on sleep. With our first daughter,we had her sleep in a crib in our room. Hubby and I took turns getting up all night to feed her, rock her, and try to get her back to sleep. For three long months, we were both running on fumes.

This time we are doing thing differently. I am sleeping in our bed with the baby. She can nurse as she needs, and I can generally get back to sleep pretty quickly, averaging about 7 hours of sleep. Hubby doesnt mind sleeping in the guest room, as he is now getting at least 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. Not bad for having a newborn in the house.

So for getting some rest, co-sleeping is working for us! Visit Kristen for more advice.

Quick Update

I'm still around, just have a serious case of writer's block. I can't come up with anything insightful enough to post...must be pregnancy brain.

18 more days to go until baby. I pretty much have everything ready, so now we're just waiting. Trying to enjoy this time of relative calm before the chaos. I'm more and more physically uncomfortable each day but trying to just grin and bear it.

One Month

We are officially in the one-month countdown to baby! My c-section is scheduled for June 1st. I saw my perinatologist today for a doppler ultrasound and non-stress test and all looks well with baby. I will be going in for testing weekly now. A month still feels like such a long time to wait but our calendar for May is so full that hopefully the time will pass quickly.

Make This Monday - Cinnamon Banana Breakfast Sandwiches

8 slices whole wheat bread
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 banana, sliced
4 tablespoons fresh whipped cream

Mix cinnamon and sugar. Brush both sides of bread with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon mixture. Broil for 3 minutes or until warm and toasty. Top half the bread with sliced bananas and whipped cream, and top with remaining bread. Yum!

Balsamic Herb Salad Dressing or Dipping Sauce

The dipping sauce that they serve with bread at Carabba's was my inspiration for this salad dressing. If you prefer you can switch the amounts of oil and vinegar and use as a dipping sauce. I also like to pour this over slices of fresh mozzarella.

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove, minced

Works For Me - Toddler Tray

At my house it is a rare occasion if we all eat dinner together. As much as I would like us to, it just doesnt work out that way. Since the start of this pregnancy, I am starving by 5 and have to eat then. Hubby usually eats about an hour later after he returns from work. And my daughter is usually not ready to eat before 7 pm - if we try to feed her earlier we all get frustrated.

At 2 1/2 I feel that she still needs some supervision (and some company) while she eats. But we got tired of having to sit at the table for half an hour to watch her eat at night (our dining room chairs are NOT comfortable).

So last week a light bulb went off in my head. You've probably seen the plastic lap trays made for kids. I think they're meant for coloring and other activities, but she never used it for that. So I had her sit on the living room floor and served her dinner on the tray. She loved it because it was fun, and we loved that she can eat her dinner with us while we hang out in the family room. Works for all of us!

Visit We Are That Family for more tips!

Make This Monday: Chicken Souiza Cornbread Casserole

1/2 c butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 15 oz can corn
1 15 oz can creamed corn
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 8.5 oz box corn muffin mix

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
2 tbl canned green chiles
1 1/2 cups sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese


Preheat oven to 375. Melt butter and saute onion and garlic. Set aside.

Combine corns, salt and egg. Beat in muffin mix. Fold in butter mixture. Pour into greased casserole dish.

Combine chicken, chiles, sour cream, salt and pepper. Spread over corn mix, leaving 1/2 inch border around edges. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 35 minutes.