Crockpot Creations! Green Chile Pork

I have not given up my quest for those tasty crockpot recipes. I took matters into my own hands and created my own complex recipe. Are you ready? This is not for the amateur chef....

Green Chile Pork:
Pork tenderloin
jar of green salsa verde
some water to cover pork
cook until the pork falls apart

It is super yummy to put in a taco, burrito or serve with some rice! So easy, cheap and it makes a lot so you can freeze it or eat it through out the week.  If anyone comes over to my house for dinner that is what you're having so be prepared!I forgot to take pictures so you will have to make it yourself to see what it looks like!

It can be done! Crockpot food can be good.

Let's face it. Crockpot food is usually sub par in the flavor department. But its so nice to just put it in the pot and leave it. Especially for those of us with babies who seem to need constant snuggles recently. I am on a mission:
To cook one crockpot meal a week and make them actually taste good.
So far I am three for four. WIN! The first was your typical stew; beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, wine, etc. Cant screw that up. The second was sent to me by my sister in law and was a super easy pot roast that you serve on rolls. Pretty good.

But the real score was this week's creation: Chicken pie soup.
I am not going to sit here and explain to you the difference between chicken pie and chicken pot pie (there is one and its huge, as my PA dutch folks know) Look at it this way one is a pie and one is served in a pot. Done. This recipe merges them together, cause aint nobody got time to make a pie crust.
Into the crock pot toss:
Shredded chicken (cooked)
carrots
celery
potatoes
peas
chicken stock
flour
little bit of milk
pepper
salt
a pinch of saffron*

Cook for several hours until the broth has thickened and the veggies are cooked. If the broth isn't thick you can spoon out some broth and mix it with some flour and put it back in to thicken it up.
Serve with biscuits. I suggest making twice as many biscuits than you think you will need. Engineman killed them and tried to eat mine. To be totally honest this was better the next day! Yummy lunch!

*Yes this stuff is more expensive than Heisenburg's blue meth but its a secret kitchen flavor weapon! Go find yourself a dealer, my Dad gets it online in bulk.

I am watching the Rachael Ray show and Emeril is on here saying they use the slow cooker at his house twice a week... LIAR! Not buying it. If you have any great crockpot recipes please send them along in the comments section. I need some help y'all!

Pumpkin Mania!

Okay, I had a psycho mommy moment this weekend. I was determined to take LS2 to the pumpkin patch and nothing was going to stand in my way.  I mean I fully intended to climb the fence of that place with her in the baby bjorn if we didn't get there before they closed on Saturday. Let me be very clear, Halloween is my favorite holiday, fall is my favorite season, and orange is my favorite color. (no not burnt orange) Saturday was sweatshirt weather in Austin! It was my perfect image of a family fall day.
My husband had to call me out for pacing and getting moderately bitchy as the hours went by and the baby decided to take a nap two hours before the place closed. Luckily it was a short nap. No, I didn't wake her up, but Engineman accused me of "accidentally" making noise. Good news is we made it there and got great photos and some beautiful pumpkins to carve! Granted she was a little sleepy and a little out of it in the photos. I love these pictures so much I am considering sending Halloween/Thanksgiving photo cards this year instead of Christmas cards! Maybe it will become a new trend. You know Christmas/Holiday cards are totally over rated, how about some fun mail for loved ones in the fall?

Packages!

Now that I am staying at home my greatest excitement comes from the UPS or FedEx guy ringing my bell, hell I will even open the door for the man in blue from the USPS! Don't tell Engineman; he might get mad.

But really I LOVE getting packages. I am like a little kid. I don't even get mad at the dogs for barking and waking up the baby when a package comes. Our recycling bin has never seen so much cardboard action. Since the birth of our sweet baby girl I have discovered the full joy of online shopping and subscriptions.... this is trouble and yes, I am late to the party. 

I am an Amazon Moms member.... totally worth it! Its basically the same as an Amazon prime account with special bonuses like the ability to subscribe to get things like diapers and wipes (or cheetos if you get down like that) delivered to your door automatically at a discounted price! So many wins involved in this..... oh wait I forgot to mention FREE TWO DAY shipping! BOO YOW! Look people; I ordered a baby food cook book yesterday at 3 pm, I am already making shopping lists for it today! At my door in less than one day.... magical. This membership also includes instant streaming of prime movies and shows. Bonus since we cancelled our bank account draining cable service. 

Oh I am not finished.... onto the subscriptions.  These little ladies are addictive. My dear friends set me up with six months of citrus lane boxes. They include lots of cute age appropriate toys and goodies for mom and baby. She has totally loved the treats from these boxes, as have I! Downside is that they aren't cheap. Still deciding if I want to continue that one. The other not cheap and almost as fun is the Honest Company deliveries. I get a bundle of self selected cleaning or bath and body goodies every month. This is exciting and I don't even like to clean!  They are all earth, animal and baby friendly. I've never been all granola before but babies are total game changers.  I decided once I get one of each product I will cancel, or maybe just postpone deliveries. They also offer a diaper delivery too but its way too rich for my blood, but the diapers are so cute! You can also give these subscriptions as gifts.... so much better than another pair of slippers, candle or throw blanket. Its the gift that keeps bringing packages to your door! YES, do it, you can even throw a subscription my way!

When To Start Solids??

Too soon???? Okay maybe I won't start her on pork ribs quite yet. You must admit she does seem a little bit interested. So that begs the question: when is the right time to start to introduce food to this munchkin? As with any child rearing question, you get 9 different answers from 5 different people. Yes I know my math is whack. I am including all the steps back people take when giving you an answer. There is no for sure answer to this question...clearly.
I don't want to rush her into it but the girl has been eying up my meals. She laughs when we chew she watches the fork go from plate to mouth. She is totally into it. I mean the kid has food envy, no doubt about it. She doesn't cry when we eat anymore because she is at the table with us and totally entertained.
From what I gather "they" recommend waiting until six months, but in the same breath say 4-6 months. Ay Ay ay.... I guess I will ask our doc. He is ever so insightful.... "I can't tell you what to do with your baby." Someone must be paranoid about malpractice... gees.  Do I feed the kid yet or not dude?
I will keep this topic updated as I find more info or just make the call and do it. I am looking forward to making our own baby food. I even put some cute baby food cook books on my Amazon wish list. Maybe they will have some useful information on nutrition and feeding babies.... off I go to order them.
CONFESSION: I let her lick a peach..twice.........she liked it!

UPDATE: Doc gave the green light for cereal/oatmeal and veggies.  Gotta wait until 6 months for fruit and meat. Not sure how this little carnivore is going to handle the news. 

Baby Takeover!

I finally got LS2 down for a good nap.... again knock on wood. As I look over the computer screen I realize our house has been taken over by a four month old.  She not only owns our every waking hour but the house has been transformed. I realized that there is not one bloody room in this house that does not have a baby item in it. Yes, even the guest bedroom. I think a friend of ours slept with Sophie the giraffe last night! She is a high dollar hooker, that Sophie...tramp.
At first my husband, Engineman, was putting the swing back into her room every time we were expecting company. Well those days have clearly ended. The swing has a permanent home in the living room, the kitchen table houses a super seat, and the pack and play resides in our bedroom. BUT WAIT; THERE'S MORE! The gigantic exersaucer rotates from the kitchen to living room. That thing is its own island and doesn't fit through doorways. Okay, okay.  I will stop
there.  But you know I could go on (as I pull a teething ring from under the couch cushion). Please tell me I am not alone in feeling as if my house has turned into a obstacle course of plastic and primary colors.
Oh shit, gotta hurdle over the playmat, the crockpot is making noises. Yes, I said crockpot.                                                        

Couldn't Survive Without:0-3 months

Last night at about 3 AM I started to wonder how I have survived the first three months with LS2.I was having a moment of self doubt. We are in the midst of a sleep regression... is that what its called? WHY is this happening?! We were doing so well for a while she was developing a pattern. I was getting rest and feeling like a rock star momma. Not for long! One of many important lessons I have learned: Don't ever get too excited about the baby "sleeping through the night." We have many friends who all had babies in the past 6 months (8 babies total!). We all text and call each other constanly and have been sharing photos, tips and tricks and must have baby items. I am going to share my top ten products we couldn't live without in the first three months... and possibly beyond.

Soothies Pacifiers:
At one point I couldn't find any pacifiers in the house and freaked out. We ended up with 8, there was always one within arms reach. LS2 doesn't like them anymore I guess she really follows the 0-3 months suggestion on the package. As I packed them away I only have 7... there is one out there, must have eloped with a missing sock! 
Summer Infant Swaddlers:
Lifesavers! They kept her all snuggled in and asleep 95% of the time. Sometimes when I put them on her she breaks out like Houdini. When her daddy wraps her up she is not moving! I admit I bought the next size up so I can keep swaddling her, those arms are crazy! Lets hope she holds off on the full roll over for a little while. 
Pack and Play with Vibrating Bassinet:
Baby girl's room is across the house so she has been in our room sleeping in a pack and play. We have the one with the infant sleeper and vibration..... man am I sad that she has outgrown that thing. She loved the vibration and the snuggness.  My goal was to have LS2 in her own room by now, I think she is ready. I am not.
Swing/Bouncer Combo:
We are big fans of multi-taskers in this house. Space is hard to come by and these little creatures "require" so much stuff.. Graco makes a combination swing and removable vibrating bouncer. My Hubby gave me a hard time as I was putting it together. "What is that stupid thing? How much stuff does this baby really need?" Fast forward to our first night home with the baby. "You are so smart, this thing is amazing." Be sure to get one that can be plugged in! It was the only way we could get her to sleep for a while. Which brings us to our next item.
Formula Samples & Bottles:
I was determined to breast feed this baby. I thought I was doing pretty well, but this kid was crying and crying and not sleeping. What is wrong with this baby? We had only been home for two days and we already broke the baby. At our first doctor appointment we found out that she had lost weight. My milk was taking its sweet ass time to come in. The doctor suggested we supplement with formula. WHAT? NO! Emotional meltdown followed (I'm a bad mommy, I can't feed my baby, why me? The world is ending, yadda, yadda) The truth is that this happens to a lot of Moms. So when those free samples come in the mail (how the hell does efamil know I am pregnant?) keep the samples and have a few bottles on hand just in case your milk takes a while to come to the party, or if it decides to be a no show.

Lanolin:
My milk came in eventually.... enough said. 
Pain Killers:
Self explanatory. Recovery can be unkind. 
Delivery Food:
Sandwiches were the best for me. I never had a chance to eat food while it was hot. Babies have alarms that go off once food hits the table. 
Partner:
I couldn't have survived without my incredible husband. He was incredible. I also had amazing friends supporting us. 
Camera:
Oh you can't have enough pictures of your sweet bundle. They do grow pretty fast!

Is this a good idea?

Hey Y'all! I might be ambitious to start a blog with a 3 month old. It seems as though I cannot finish a thought much less a blog post. This may be the blog of interrupted posts. These first three months have been a roller coaster. This little girl has totally rocked our world. To be honest she started rocking my world a year ago... that's a whole new post. I hope you enjoy sharing in my adventure in parenting, a new job and more. I am looking forward to documenting the ups and downs of my new lifestyle. Several of our friends have had babies this year and we are constantly sharing our stories, worries, successes, product reviews, outings and survival tips with one another. I have decided to take it to the web! We could all use some support and a laugh; on top of a few extra hours of sleep! Uh-Oh... gotta dash the super seat just became uninteresting.  Wait; is that a laugh or a cry? How does she manage to do both at the same time?