Yummy Simple Breakfast Treat...

For better or for worse, I have a new breakfast addiction.
Mini Cinnamon Bagels, fresh strawberries and a cup of coffee.

The Pioneer Woman posted a recipe for cinnamon butter she puts on her cinnamon toast.
Here's what I did with it...
I whipped up the butter according to her recipe. I put the cinnamon butter in a container in my fridge so each morning it's just there, ready and waiting for me. (well I don't really eat this EVERY morning, but I want to!)
To soften the butter for use I just put the container (lid off) in the microwave for 8-10 seconds.
I cut a mini bagel in half (or two, but whose counting?). I spread the butter on each half of the bagel and place on a baking sheet. I bake at 350 degrees for 8min on the middle rack. Then I move baking sheet to the top rack of oven and broil for a min or less. Pull baking sheet out and let cool just for a min or two.
So soft. So warm. A little crunch. A little like a Panera Cinnamon Chip Bagel (for those of us who can't have them on a regular basis because there is no drive thru and we aren't willing to drag two small children across town and into a restaurant for an 80 cent bagel - I just have to keep throwing that drive thru comment out there, secretly hoping they get one!).

So here's the recipe & link if you want to check it out for yourself. You can slap this butter on any kind of bread you like. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Butter
2 sticks Salted Butter, Softened
1 cup Sugar (more To Taste)
3 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract (more To Taste)
⅛ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg (optional)

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Smush softened butter with a fork. Dump in sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg, if using. Stir to completely combine.
Spread on slices of bread, completely covering the surface all the way to the edges.
Place toast on a cookie sheet. Place cookies sheet into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil until golden brown and bubbling. Watch so it won’t burn!
Remove from oven.

Giveaway

check out this link to win a super cute lunch sack for a little kid you love!
GIVEAWAY

Firsts...

Well this has been a week of firsts for KJ...Her first real sickness, a double ear infection, fever, major congestion (including her tear ducts making her look like she was crying for 2 days), and requiring prescription medication. She seems to be on the mend now and is such a happy girl and I am one happy mama!
Today I put her hair in piggy tails for the 1st time! I am so excited her hair is finally growing, and I'm not sure if it's all the humidity we have been having lately or if it is because her hair is growing but it is more curly by the day and so so cute!
Oh and before she got sick she got to meet her 2nd favorite dog (our own dog being her 1st), Clifford the Big Red Dog. :)
Here are some pictures...


And a couple of Baby E. He is really growing fast - almost 10lbs now! He is such a sweetheart and has been very patient with mommy while I care for a sick big sister. Thank you for being such an angel Baby E!

Mommy Product Review #2

LOVE THIS!
My FAVORITE nursing pillow.
Heck, you would even enjoy it if you are bottle feeding your baby. With my first baby I used the Bop*py pillow, which worked fine. However my complaint was that my neck hurt, I always needed, at a minimum, a pillow behind my back as well. I did like it for sitting the baby in it & using it for tummy time occasionally. My daughter still likes to play with it so when I knew I would be nursing baby #2 and changing her world completely I didn't want her to feel I was stealing "her" pillow.

At first I thought I would just get another Bop*py pillow but then I came across the above pillow. The name of it is silly but it works great! It is called "My Breast Friend." I'm not so sure it's my "breast" friend but it is my friend in many other ways: My "Neck" friend, my "back" friend, my "get up and move around" friend. Oh how I love this pillow!

PROS:
Great support for my elbows & arms, which makes me hunch over little to none at all which in turn does NOT leave tension in my neck. Ahhhh...no need for shoulder rubs due to nursing (although I do enjoy a massage, at least I don't NEED one every day).

The pillow wraps around you and can fasten with a buckle, which means two things - great support for the small of your back (great for those deep chairs & sofas that don't support your back well) AND it will stay just above your waist and continue supporting your arms and baby (you do still need to hold the baby with your arms, ok) if you want to get out of your chair and walk to another room, or help another child with a toy, or answer the phone.

This pillow is also more firm and than the other kind of pillow and seems to give better support to me and to baby.

The little pocket that is sewn in the front, perfect for pacifiers, nursing pads, or your cell phone, anything you want to have on hand but don't want to hold.

I'm telling you, I LOVE this pillow and it was so worth the money.

CONS:
The only thing I have not liked about this pillow is it was not comfortable to use while sitting in my hospital bed. I actually never tried it sitting up in my bed at home so I'm not sure about that. Not sure if it was the pillow, or the fact I had a c/section or just the fact that I still had my little prego belly. The Bop*py worked fine while I was sitting up in the hospital bed.

Ready to Roll!

We have a new toy at our house. A bike trailer for KJ to ride in, we are all very excited about it. Well, except for Baby E, he's not so excited because he will have to wait until next Spring to go crusing with Daddy and Sissy. KJ loves going for rides with Daddy and even enjoys wearing her helmet. The few times they have gone for a ride she has almost fallen asleep. Sounds relaxing. :)


Here are a few pictures of Baby E and his Big Sister. They bring such joy to our lives, we have really sweet kiddos.

Baby Furniture & other things this week

Here are some pictures of Baby E's furniture...it finally arrived after quite the wait. Backorder much! And poor communitication from the retailer. But it is here and I LOVE IT! We still need to hang things on the walls but here is a peek.

On another note, KJ seems like such a big girl these days. She's not even 2 yet but I think in her mind she is 4. Here are some pictures of her playing with a friend and some from her cousins birthday party.

Love & Silliness...

Not much to report these days. Just adjusting to life with a newborn & a toddler. KJ is loving her new brother. Several times a day she will walk up to whoever is holding him, pat us on the leg, point to her brother and say, "Please. Please?" This is her way of asking if she can hold him. We sit with her & help her "hold" him. She kisses him & stares at him and then is off to play with her toys - until 20 min later when she wants to check on brother again. :) When he cries she is quick to alert us (like we don't hear him too), saying, "UhOh. UhOh."
Also this week KJ has discovered she really likes the pink crocs that the neighbor girl handed down to her. She likes to put them on herself and yesterday insisted on wearing them over her footed pajamas. She is a hoot & certainly keeps us smiling and laughing.

Silly Mommy...

I shared this story in a faceb*ook message to my cousin today and thought it would be funny to share it with you.
It is wild to me that Baby E is already a week old.
The other day my husband had to make a sharp turn in the car and he said, "Hold on Baby E."
I patted my belly & said, "sorry little guy, daddy's driving crazy!"
There was silence and then I said, "Hahahaha...Eli is in the back, not in my tummy!" We laughed so hard. Poor kid, 5min in the backseat & I already forgot he was here.

A few pictures from this last week...

Here is a little slide show of some pictures we have taken over the last week. We are really enjoying our family of four. :)

Not your everyday Grandma...

I called my grandma today to say Happy Easter. My aunt answered the phone & my grandma was busy doing some "spring cleaning" outside with my uncles. My aunt proceeds to tell me about their day so far and I was laughing so hard!

There is a basketball goal that has been attached to a light pole at the end of my grandma's driveway (the pole does not have a light attached * serves no purpose other than holding the goal). I don't remember the last time someone actually played basketball there, and the goal is very high up. So here is the story...

Last night while leaving to go out to eat, my grandma reminded my uncle to be careful backing out the car to not hit the pole
My uncle: "If I had my chainsaw with me I would take care of that pole for you." (Note, my uncle is visiting from out of state)

Grandma: "Well I have a chainsaw." (she says in a matter-of-fact way)

LOL - obviously! Because every one's 76 yr old grandma has a working chainsaw, right? Oh, she is funny!

But it gets better.

My grandma had been outside for awhile watching them take down the pole and she came inside to get something. My aunt asked her how things were going and in the most casual way my grandma says, "Great. Freda brought over a log chain. The guys are almost done."

Freda is the other older lady who lives next door - also a widow.

So if you need any work done in south central Kansas don't worry about renting equipment - just call Clarice & Freda, they may have just the thing!

Mommy Product Review

I LOVE THESE! Every sore nursing momma should give them a try!

Baby E is here and nursing a newborn has begun. The engorgement, the cracking, the soreness, etc. I actually enjoy nursing a baby, just have to get through those first few weeks of the discomfort and then it's really one of my favorite times with my baby.
Thursday was day 1 of real pain on one side. I went to see the lactation nurse right away. I know soreness is normal, even some cracking but I wanted to do everything I could as soon as I could so that baby would eat, so that I wouldn't dread feeding him and most of all so that I wouldn't get an infection &/or lose my milk supply.
Aside from the usual tips, using breast milk to heal the crack, using lanolin as well, time and patience, the Lactation Consultant said that several women have found that gel pads can be helpful & suggested I stop by Ta*rget to pick some up and give them a try.

This momma gives them 5 HUGE STARS!!!!! I SO SO Wish I had these when I was starting the nursing process with my daughter.
You can just put these right on, or as the instructions suggest, you can put them in the fridge for a few min and then put them on for extra soothing relief. the gel of the pad has lanolin and some other goodness to give you relief and help you heal faster, and provides some cushion for extra comfort so you can just enjoy your baby.
I used breast milk on my sore spot, let it air dry and then applied the gel pads, I did this for about 48 hours and today has honestly been a great day of nursing.

You still need to use nursing pads with the gel pads b/c they are not meant to absorb milk or keep you from leaking.

Baby E is here!

Here are some photos of our first few days together with our newest family member, Baby E.

Baby Room & Furniture update...

Still waiting on baby crib & dresser. I did FINALLY get the furniture store to answer the phone. I called every 2 min today until I got a real person and not the answering machine. The store says they will make some calls to track our furniture and we should hear something Monday afternoon. Of course Baby E will be sleeping in a bassinet in our room for several weeks so it's not a huge deal, BUT it would just be nice to not have to worry about picking up furniture & assembling a crib while trying to care for two kids and a healing momma.

I've been waiting to post pictures of the baby room until the furniture was in and things hung on the walls but alas we are still waiting. For now I will share with you the few things that we do have done. The room in painted. Curtains are hung (although they need hemmed) and we have a changing table (reused from Baby K, but with new totes that are more masculine). Oh and we did get a picture of a GTO ordered and it is now framed and waiting to be hung.
Here is a slide show of what we have so far. If you want to know how to paint perfect stripe on a wall read my note below the slide show.

Perfect Painted Stripes are not that hard!
Thanks to my friend Janae for her FABULOUS tip!
So we painted the wall the main wall color.
When it was dry we used a laser level to tape the stripe(s). After the painters tape is up, use the same paint you have painted the main part of the wall to seal off the edge of the tape. Give the paint time to dry. Your tape is now sealed. Paint your stripe. Let dry. Peel back your tape pulling it diagonally toward the newly painted stripe.

Since we had several stripes of different colors we taped & painted ours in the following order:
First the white, taped it off, sealed with gray paint, painted white, then pulled up all tape from white stripes.
Then taped off areas for the black and red stripes,
sealed the tape with white paint,
then painted with black and red. removed tape.

Crazy Bedhead & Helping Puppy

Here is a short slide show of the last couple of days. Baby K woke up from a nap this week with some serious bedhead. Cracked me up!
The other pictures are of Baby K taking care of our dog, the dog has some allergy issues right now & cannot stop scratching and chewing herself so she in on some meds and has a cone on her head for a few days. Baby K has been really compassionate and it has been sweet to watch her care for her puppy. Yesterday, I found both of them in Baby K's room & K had brought the dog 3 stuffed toys, was giving her dog food one tiny handful at a time, kissing her, and patting her on the back saying, "ow" and her version of "good girl." The dog can eat from her bowl even with the cone on, but K thinks it's better to pamper her.

Cravings...

So really I've had no real good ideas of what to blog lately.
So with only 12 days left until we meet our new little guy, I thought I'd share my food cravings. Since I'm watching a tv show about food right now. :)
I haven't had many cravings but sadly most of what I have craved is food that is not available in the city I live in. Are you kidding me?! It's torture! LOL
I normally have a sweet tooth but I have wanted sweet baked goods, cookies, cakes, ice cream, candy...ugh, it has been hard to not go totally wild eating these things, especially because for whatever reason what I really crave can only be eaten in Manhattan, KS. Which is a little too far to go just to eat some simple foods.
Fried Pickles, but not just any fried pickles - So Long Saloon Fried Pickles with their cream cheese spread - Off and on I have had very strong cravings for this.
This last week I have wanted a pecan sticky bun or cinnamon roll from Mrs Powell's, also in Manhattan. I can eat these foods from somewhere else I'm sure, or even make them myself, but my mind and my taste buds know...and the craving will go on. So I'm not even wasting my time.
Instead, just pass me a bowl of ice cream. :)

Gearing up...

Baby E's room is coming right along. Hopefully his crib and dresser will be here next week. I will post pictures then.
This past week I went to gymb*oree to look through their sale stuff and use a coupon I had.
I was so excited to find they had several items for boys with tractors on them!
I think Baby E's grandpa will be excited to have a little tractor buddy. :)
Here is what I ended up getting for our little guy to wear this summer...

Just Because...

she makes me smile, and laugh! I came across this picture today and was cracking up - I forgot about it! It was taken on Sept 28th. Oh my this little girl can be silly & brings us such JOY!

What a difference a year makes

Just thinking about Baby E arriving in some 40 days.
I saw a picture of Baby K from last February & thought, I wonder what she looked like on March 29th, 2009? Since my c-section will most likely be on March 29 or 30th.
Well I found this picture from March 31, 2009.
I think I would have laughed like crazy if someone had told me that day I would be having another baby a year from then! LOL
Well here is Baby K on March 31, 2009...

January In Review...

Just pulled this stuff off the camera.

Here are pictures from a day that Baby K decided her Baby Doll MUST be held while she ate lunch. :)

One day I told Baby K it was time for her nap, she quickly went down the hall, this is where I found her, curled up for her nap. Silly girl!

She keeps finding this brown knit headband of hers & wearing it like a necklace. Sunday after church I took her dress off so she wouldn't mess it up while she ate. Underneath her dress I discovered that she had the "headband" on, guess daddy didn't catch that when he was dressing her that morning.

Baby K LOVES to read and be read to, I often find her sitting with a book "reading." I tried to sneak some video of her doing this but she caught me. The resolution is poor but it's still pretty cute.

Reading

New Phone

I should upload pictures from the camera to the computer so I can update you on life & how totally cute Baby K is - but I thought while you wait I would share that I got a new cell phone (same number).

It was free & it's Purple & I love it! (I'm sure you really don't care but I'm pretty pumped about it!)