Pinterest Pick: Mediterranean Pasta

This is a new segment I would like to call- "Pinterest Pick." I have been trying lots of Pinterest idea's lately, so here is the first I would like to share with you...

So I found a delicious recipe called Mediterranean Pasta that seemed right up my ally the other day. It was pretty easy, and fairly healthy. So I decided to try it out, but made a few changes...

Mediterranean Pasta

Ingredients
* 8 ounces uncooked pasta (I used whole wheat penne that we had in the pantry but you can use whatever you choose.)
* 1 can artichoke hearts drained (I used quartered)
*1/4 cup pitted black olives chopped
* tbsp olive oil
*2 cloves garlic pressed
*1 can tomatoes diced and drained
*1 cup feta cheese
* 1 cup Classico "Light"Alfredo sauce
* 1 cup fresh spinach

Directions
1. Cook pasta according to directions in saucepan.
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes until garlic begins to turn gold. Reduce heat and add Spinach.
3. Once spinach is soft, add olives, artichokes, tomatoes, and Alfredo sauce. Heat 1-2 minutes, stirring gently until heated through. Remove from heat, stir in warm pasta. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

This was pretty yummy, and still really good left-over. Enjoy!

For the original recipe, please see:
http://workingonmyforever.blogspot.com/2011/06/back-on-weight-watchers-bandwagon.html

To The New Mom's Out There:

I have been wanting to write this post for awhile...

I'm going to try to blog a bit more, and start incorporating a variety of posts into this blog...we shall see.

Anyways... I have really wanted to write a short note to all the new mommies, and soon-to-be new mommies out there with some of the things I have learned. I am by no means an expert, but here ya go...

1. There is NOTHING wrong with NOT breast feeding...it's not for everyone. I really wanted to because of the health benefits for Z, and I did exclusively for 4 months, but I just did not produce enough milk to keep it up, and I was just not patient enough for it. Folks, there is nothing wrong with giving your child formula. When I started supplementing her diet, I reached out for support of my decision to supplement with formula, and I was told by the online support group that I just wasn't trying hard enough...Bull. I shouldn't have to be ashamed of not breast feeding her for the first year, I mean, hey, at least I'm FEEDING her (which is more than we can say for some moms out there).

2. Trust your gut. If something doesn't feel right about something that concerns your child, don't leave it up to chance. Follow those mommy instincts.

3. Child and Birthing classes are not necessary, but can be helpful. I didn't take them, and did just fine (at least she's still alive and has suffered no major injury). You figure it out as you go...and those instincts I was talking about kick in. However, classes may ease some anxiety you may be feeling.

4. Get a breathing monitor. Seriously. Right Now. The brand I have is called Angel Care. It has a sensor that you put under baby's mattress. This has given me sooooo much piece of mind. If she stops breathing, or for some reason leaves her crib, a crazy loud alarm goes off. If also has adjustable sound on it, so I can go outside in the garden while she's asleep and still hear her. This keeps me from staring at a video screen all night trying to decide if she's ok or not...I know she's breathing cause I don't hear an earsplitting screech of a monitor going off.

5. Don't try to be Super Mom...It's impossible. And if you try, you may end up actually missing the important stuff. Case and point- I spent the first month with Zoe making sure that the house was spotless, not a dish to be found in our sink. Looking back, I sure do wish I would have let the house go to hell, and cuddled my little baby every. single. moment.

6. Know what kind of birth you want to have and make sure the doc is on board. Know what to ask and what to say. Discuss it with your partner. And remember, it's never too late to get the right medical professional for your birth...I switched hospitals/doctors at 30 weeks, and I have never been so glad I made that decision.

7. You WILL be tired, and you WILL need help. Nothing, I mean NOTHING, can prepare you for the lack of sleep. You will need some help, preferably from someone other than your partner (they will be tired too). I really do not know what we would have done without family helping us through those first few weeks!

8. You will be anxious to get your body back, but go easy, especially if your planning to breastfeed. I got on Weight Watchers after 1 month. I lost the weight super fast because of breast feeding, but it also lowered my supply quite a bit. Take it slow and healthy!

9. Take a pillow to the hospital...I know this is weird, but I was really glad to have mine. I slept so much better, and it was comforting to have something from home. Also in your go bag, you should have some shampoo and conditioner (a hospital is not the same as a hotel), slip-on house shoes, a robe, nursing bras (if BF), and some really awful giant granny panties (just in case of a c-section).

10. Ignore all the sleeping books...they're garbage and will just confuse the crap out of you. Do what you think baby needs. If she's waking to see you at night, let her fuss a bit before you go in. If she's inconsolably crying, comfort her. If she's hungry, feed her. It's not rocket science, and they'll eventually sleep through the night.

Well there you are...my top 10! Good luck to all those new mommies!

Lucky 7

Andrew was born 7/17, and 7 has always been his "lucky" number. The number seems to have found its way to Zoe. Zoe was born 12/7, weighing in at 7 lbs, 7 oz. Her mommy stayed in a hospital room number that was some derivative of 7, and she was born at 7-something at night. She has now reached her 7 month of life in the 7th month of the year, and we are looking forward to her best month yet!

Not much has changed this month. Zoe has began eating her vegetables, which my sister helped me make at home. I will be starting her on some fruits this month. Zoe really likes green and yellow squash, but is still not a big fan of broccoli (I have to agree with her). I love the home-made baby food because it doesn't have near the sugar content of the pre-
made stuff (although we do use it occasionally when we're out and about). She has also started feeding herself those little fruit puff snacks. She's managing to get more and more in her mouth (instead of the floor). She also has been using a soft sippy-cup instead of a bottle. Yay for my big girl!

Z has been working hard on her crawling, and gets up on all-fours regularly (she hasn't quite got the hang of forward-motion). She also gets on her hands and feet, like she would love to try to walk. Her preference is clearly to try to walk. We borrowed an Around-We-Go toy from my sister, and it is her favorite toy by-far. She walks around and around it, playing with all the toys. She'll even chase you. She walks in her Around-We-Go so much, we have started having to put socks on her because she has little blisters on the bottom of her feet! We have also started calling her DJ Z-Bot, because she loves to hammer on the attached piano!

We have been spending quite a bit of time in a pool this summer. Turns out I have a little water-baby! She LOVES swimming! She will splash her hands and kick her feet, and even puts her face in the water! She has a little "bumper boat" that I let her play in in the kiddie pool, and she goes EVERYWHERE!

Here is a little of what Zoe is up to this month:


Favorite Thing to Do: She loves to play in her Around-We-Go!
Favorite Food: Green and Yellow Squash...You can't get it in her mouth fast enough.
New This Month: Working on Crawling on all fours
Growth: Wearing all 6 month clothes. Per her 6 month visit, she's a skinny baby with a big head! (No wonder she's slow to crawl!)
Sleep: She hit the 6 month mark, and just started sleeping 7pm-6:15am. Hallelujah! 
Speaking: We are really convinced she is saying "Da-Da" and knows who that is. He'll leave the room, and she'll call him back!
Movement: She is a wiggler. I wish she would snuggle and cuddle a bit more, but she has things to do and people to see!
Behavior: She loves to get stranger's attention. I first noticed this on the Seattle trip, but it has gotten 
more intense since then...she stares at people until they look at her, then grins at them!

This is a video of Zoe walking in her Around-We-Go:


This is a video of DJ Z-Bot:

This is Zoe swimming in her Bumper Boat:

Adventures, Doctors, and Dad's

Just a quick update-

We had an interesting adventure to Seattle. Zoe did fairly well on the airplane until the very last flight home (a 30 min. trip from Dallas), when her ears did not pop on the way up...She screamed bloody murder for 15 min. Sooo embarrassing, but what can you do? She had a hard time sleeping away from home and we had a difficulty because we got so far off nap schedule, so she was a bit cranky there, but overall did ok. A and I got food poisoning on the last afternoon there so it definitely ended with a bang!

Zoe saw the doctor today for her 6month wellness check! She is perfectly healthy and right on track. She is 26 inches long (65%), 15 lb. 4 oz. (15%), and
43 1/2 cm head circumference (77%). In other words, she's still a skinny baby with a big head! Shots were TERRIBLE this time though...she recognized the doctor and nurse and started crying as soon as the walked in and clutching onto me! I felt like a terrible person handing her over and letting them poke her...

Finally, we had a great father's day! Zoe made her

daddy a collage for his desk at work. He is just the best daddy to Zoe...we are lucky ladies! I also wanted to tribute my dad, Zoe's grandpa. What a great man!!

Half a Year

My Zoe is 6 months! I know I say it every month, but time goes too quickly. Everyone told me to enjoy infanthood, and I wish I would have done a little more of that. Its easy to get caught up in all that needs
to be done, and with next-to-no sleep, its hard to complete daily tasks. But never again will she be that tiny. There is a part of me that misses the snuggle sessions during the 2 am feedings. As you can tell I'm quite nostalgic already, and she's still a baby!

We are going to be braving our first airplane ride tomorrow, for a much needed short vacation to Seattle. I am super nervous about it, and hoping she doesn't decide to throw an almighty fit in the middle of the flight. I'll be sure and post when we get back with all our vacation photos. Heres to hoping for some relaxation and fun.

Zoe is officially mobile this month. She rolls and twists, and is occasionally using an army crawl to get around! She is quite good at going backwards, and can occasionally go forwards. As such, we have completed the playroom for the most part, so that I can put her in there and not worry about her getting into something she shouldn't! She is not quite sitting up on her own yet but very close. She seems to forget sometimes and just falls over. However, she is finally steady enough for the umbrella stroller...TG!

She is doing really well with her routine this month. She is finally sleeping without a swaddle (a REALLY hard habit to break), and seems to generally fall asleep at the same times each day. For the most part, she sleeps 8-5, but we

have some struggles about 2 nights a week. :-/ I have decided that she is just not a good sleeper, something she must have got from her daddy, as I could sleep 13 hours a day if you let me!

Zoe finally seems to be growing a bit. She has definitely put some weight on, and is moving out of those 3 month clothes. She has her 6 month appt. coming up, so I can't wait to see how much she's grown! We will also be starting food this month. Andrew and I occasionally let her taste something from our plates, and now know that she is a huge fan of anything with spaghetti sauce, which would explain all those cravings for italian.

Here is a little of what Zoe is up to this month:


Favorite Thing to Do: She really loves playing with her cousins. One of her cousins, G, makes her crack up laughing every time their together (see video). It is adorable!
Favorite Food: Spaghetti sauce from moms finger! ;-) We start food this month.
New This Month: Army Crawl! She is definitely mobile!
Growth: Wearing mostly 6 month clothes now!
Sleep: We are getting so much better with our sleep schedule. She sleeps through the night once or twice a week now. She's still not very consistent, but overall has improved drastically!
Speaking: She has a habit of talking really loud, especially when she's hungry or sleepy. She still loves having conversations with Andrew after work.
Movement: As mentioned, she is army crawling. She also does this new thing when she's excited, where she kicks and wiggles back and forth. Pretty cute.
Behavior: She's become a much happier baby now that she has a pretty good routine! We can even get her to giggle when she's in a good mood!

Mother MAY I??

Happy Mother's Day to all!

This May marks my very first mother's day as a mom. We probably won't do much, but I wanted to say a few words on the subject. I have several mom's in my life, and love each like crazy. I feel blessed to have these 3 lovely ladies in my life. My own mother is one of the most KIND-hearted people. She will do just about anything for anyone. I spent some time recently going through old family pictures, and created a slideshow for her for mother's day (I can't get it to post because the file is too large). I also took some pictures of her with Zoe. You can see that we had a blast! I am also
blessed to have an AMAZING mother-in-law. Everyone out there should be jealous. The woman is super sweet and thoughtful, and loves her children and grandchildren with all her heart! Finally,  Zoe's nanna (my dad's long-time girlfriend) has always been there for us. A friend if there ever was one! Love all these ladies!

Zoe just turned 5 months and is more active than ever! She loves to kick her feet when she's excited
(she does this alot in the bath or when she sees a bottle-see video), she talks all the time, rolls and scoots everywhere, and grabs things to put in her mouth. Mommy stays busy!

I have had several people ask lately if I ever get bored staying home with Zoe. The answer is no. The truth is that I absolutely love every second of it. I stay incredibly busy, and am hardly ever caught up on housework, but that is ok! I know that Zoe is getting everything she needs. I did recently start teaching swim lessons again at the Y for about 4 hours a week. I take Zoe to the day care at the Y while I go, which gives her some social interaction. (I did, of course, cry the first time I left her.) I just love
teaching swim lessons, but I am still watching and deciding whether this is a good fit for us.

Here is a little of what Zo is up to this month:


Favorite Thing to Do: She recently got some little cloth baby books at the store...she just loves looking at them!
Favorite Food: Moms Milk. :-)…Per APA recommendations, we will not be trying cereal until 6 months!
New This Month: Rolling and scooting EVERYWHERE...If you put her down on her tummy she rolls around until she gets where she wants to go!
Growth: No more 0-3 month clothes, and it looks like 3 month will soon be gone. Time to shop for some 6 month clothes!
Sleep: We are getting so much better with our sleep schedule. She sleeps through the night once or twice a week now. She's still not very consistent, but overall has improved drastically!
Speaking: Zoe unofficially said her first word- "Hi." Andrew was saying hi to her and she repeated it back to him! She also says "mama" on occasion. We are pretty sure it's just coincidence... but still fun!
Movement: She is our little roll polly. She just rolls around everywhere! She also kicks constantly! It's so fun to go get her out of her bed in the morning and she starts kicking because she's excited to see me!
Behavior: She is a happy baby…until she’s tired or hungry. She doesn’t give much warning in those cases, and can throw some pretty intense fits!

4 Month Update

Well April has arrived, and a routine is slowly starting to re-emerge in my household. Moving was chaotic and way less than fun with a little one. We were delayed at the last possible second, with all our things on the moving truck, so we had no clothes, beds, or basic supplies for living. We made it work, and are now mostly unpacked in our new home in Moore. We love all the space, and have been busying ourselves with projects (with the help of family, we put a new wood floor the weekend we moved in).

It's strange to think that this time last year, I was finding out that I was pregnant. We have come so far. They are right when they say "having a baby changes everything." You get a lot less sleep, your diet changes, your body changes...EVERYTHING

changes, but it is sooooo worth it. I wouldn't trade any of it!

With all the moving and changes in our lives, Zoe has been completely thrown off her routine. We also transitioned her to her crib during this time, since we were getting her used to a new house anyway. Her sleep schedule has been crazy- some nights she wakes every 40 minutes, other nights she'll sleep 6 hours at a time. We are hoping she adjusts soon, and are trying to be much more strict about her sleep and eat schedule. Fingers crossed.

Despite the chaos and lack of sleep, she has been growing and learning at an alarming rate. She talks up a storm (she loves to have conversations with her Daddy when he gets home from work...see video below), and

is also doing really well using her hands. She has almost figured out how to put a binky back in her mouth, but would much prefer to suck on her hands. She now rolls both ways- back to front, and front to back, and can sit in her bumbo for extended periods of time. She has also recently started kicking her feet, so we have some shoes with rattles on them, as well as a jumper for her. She loves to play, especially in the bathtub!!

We survived her first cold last week (they put her on antibiotics because her congestion and fever were so bad)! :-( She has pretty much fully recovered. We also had her 4 month visit with the pediatrician! According to them she is quite small 11lbs, 5oz (10th Percentile). She is 24.5" (50th percentile), and her head is 16.54" (85th percentile). He said everything is wonderfully normal and healthy, but that I should continue to supplement with formula (something I started a few weeks ago).

This is what Zoe is up to this month:


Favorite Thing to Do: She just loves bath time! I think she’d spend an hour in the tub if I let her. She just kicks the water and sucks on her rubber ducky!

Favorite Food: Moms Milk. :-)…Per APA recommendations, we will not be trying cereal until 6 months!

New This Month: Kicking her feet

Growth: The 0-3 month clothes are quickly becoming snug, but she is still wearing them. Still comfortable in 3 month clothes!

Sleep: We are still having trouble sleeping because of the move. Some nights she sleeps 4-6 hours without waking, and others she wakes up as often as every 45

minutes!

Speaking: She talks when she wakes up, and loves to talk to her daddy when he gets home. I swear she is sitting there telling him about her whole day!

Movement: She still is sucking on her hands and I have pretty much given up on trying to stop her. She rolls both ways now, but doesn’t really like to be on her stomach! She loves to straighten her legs and stand on our lap.

Behavior: She is a happy baby…until she’s tired or hungry. She doesn’t give much warning in those cases, and can throw some pretty intense fits!