Menu Plan August 31

I don't even want to think about menu planning today, for some reason! Feeling the weight of a lot of other things swirling in my brain, and the last thing I want to think about is cooking. Ahh! So my plan for this week is to grab some simple recipes that hopefully incorporate the piles of tomatoes Tim picked from our garden this week. Here goes:

Monday: 5 Minute Southwest Layered Salad
Tuesday: Pork chops with mushrooms and cream sauce over Basmati rice and Roasted Zucchini with Thyme
Wednesday: Spaghetti with loads of veggies and garlic bread
Thursday: Leftover buffet
Friday: Tomato Basil Snackers with bbq chicken

Check out Organizing Junkie for more menu plan ideas.

diapering and EC

I haven't posted on diapering and EC in a while, so I thought I'd give a little update on how things are going. I'll start with diapering!

I use mainly fitted diapers (without covers) or little undies while we are at home. That way I can tell immediately when she is wet and change her right away. This is a personal preference for me, I always try to keep her bum dry and clean. When we go out, I usually use my pocket diapers, or All-in-twos (they are waterproof). If I am out of clean diapers, or she hasn't had her poo yet, I will put on a disposable. (Although she rarely goes when we are out.) She still wears a disposable at night as well.

I was so excited about EC (elimination communication) after reading the book "Diaper Free". We did so well at first about communicating about her needs and she was peeing in the toilet a lot! I have been slacking off with this, and really have no excuse. It's easier to let her pee and then change it. I am disappointed, but would like to set some specific goals in the fall for myself to get back on track. (It has nothing to do with Charlotte, it's about me providing her sufficient opportunity to pee in her potty.) Basically, I would like to take her to pee - when she wakes up, and at intervals of every hour in the morning and afternoon. I would also like to use underwear primarily at home. And take her to pee when we are out, at least every hour. We are getting more undies (from my fabulously talented SIL!) and I will post pics when we get them. The ones she has are getting too small for her.

Anyway, I think I will re-read some of "Diaper Free" in order to renew my vision for this and realize why I was passionate about it in the first place. It is tricky to go against what is the norm, and I am coming to the realization that I need to stop worrying about what other people think!!

Menu Plan - August 24 - 28

I haven't been posting menu plans very consistently... sorry! The past few weeks have been so busy with family visiting, birthday parties and lots of fun activities. (Including TWO date night dinners!) So I'm trying to get back into a routine of menu planning on Monday to help our schedule and budget. (Plus I need to think of some recipes with zucchini and tomato as we have an abundance in our garden. Any suggestions?)

Here is the plan for this week:
Monday: Leftover Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with Brushcetta
Tuesday: Toasted tomato sandwiches and Leek and Potato soup
Wednesday: Sweet Potato Hummus and bbq chicken breast
Thursday: Farmer's Market Vegetarian Quesadillas
Friday: Birthday bbq for a friend - probably bringing some homemade burgers!

We went out for our anniversary dinner (5 years!!) on Saturday night and it was so lovely. The appetizer we chose was Sweet Potato Hummus. I had never heard of it before, and it was delicious. So I am going to try and make it myself!

Check out Organizing Junkie for more menu plan ideas

She's one

We had her party last Saturday. Friend's and family gathered in the heat of the day to celebrate the life of our baby girl. We are so blessed, with health, family, love and happiness, it is hard to believe sometimes, but we are very grateful. Here are some pictures of her special day.

my two youngest sisters were able to be there for her party! yay for vacations in August!

we had this beautiful store bought cake for the crowd (which turned out to be a less than planned, so lots of leftover cake!) and I made pumpkin apple harvest cupcakes for a healthier alternative. Charlotte LOVES the cupcakes, here is where I found the recipe!
(It's the first one on the list.)

her favorite part of the day? everyone singing "Happy Birthday to you....." (so we sang it three times!)post-dip in the pool to cool off


she received many wonderful and thoughtful gifts. one of them.... her very first tu-tu! being a former ballerina, this thrilled me to bits! (and it fits age 1 to 5, so I'm sure lots of twirling and tip-toeing will happen soon!)

*all pictures courtesy of Nannie and Grampie. Thank you!

propaganda

I need to preface this post. I am very pro-breastfeeding. However, I know that some women really struggle with it, and that breastfeeding may not be possible for them. I am for education and support for woman when it comes to breastfeeding. I am not anti-formula. I signed up for all the free formula and diaper samples before Charlotte was born, and I'm glad I did, because we needed formula when I had to go to the hospital for gall bladder surgery and then with the complications afterward. (My medication was not compatible with breastfeeding the second time I was in the hospital and I had to pump and dump while DH had to learn the ins and outs of bottle feeding! Thank goodness for an amazing friend who came to help him and teach him all about it. And stayed up in the night with my girl.)

So this is my problem. I received a pamphlet and coupon from a formula company yesterday. I usually pass on the coupons to people who need them, and glance through the pamphlet quickly to see if there is any interesting information. There was a section on "weaning tips" which caught my eye and I was astonished to read this:

"For older babies (9 months +) nursing is more about comfort and contact than feeding."

AHHHHHHHH!!!!

I agree that comfort and contact are a huge part of breastfeeding. But, really??? Are you serious??? I would say that Charlotte's main source of food is breastmilk. She feeds often, on demand. At least every 2 hours, probably more most days. (Depending on the time of day.)

Being the gullible and easily influenced person that I am, I started to wonder......
I have heard people mention that nutrients diminish out of breastmilk. (In particular, iron. Which is why Charlotte still eats iron fortified baby cereal and finger cereals such as Cheerios and Nutrios.) Maybe there is something to this........

So I looked up information on Dr. Sears' website. I really agree with his outlook on breastfeeding and attachment parenting. (I'm not sure if you will be able to see the site without signing up for the newsletter, but it is worth it in my opinion!) I came across this page where someone asked the exact question. And of course I discovered that breastmilk is still a wonderful source of nutrition and antibodies for babies and toddlers. Also, check out this page which explains the nutrients in breastmilk. Fascinating!

So why would a formula company put false information in their pamphlet? I am pretty disturbed by this, and I do not think this is right. Many, many mothers will be receiving this, it is a form of education, really. Why discourage breastfeeding after 9 months? The only reason I can think of is money. They make money when women choose to stop breastfeeding.

I think I will write a letter to the company. I hope you will too! (Send me an e-mail if you want more info!)

Menu Plan - August 10

I missed last week.... oops!
Monday was a holiday and turned out to be a grab what you can find to eat day. I took a holiday too! Spent most of the day with my book when I had a spare moment from taking care of Charlotte!! We had a couple of birthday dinners thrown in there, a pizza night and company over for delicious steak and veggie kabobs, garden salad and pesto potatoes!

This weeks plan is going to be pretty simple, as I am busy planning Charlotte's big birthday bash for Saturday!!

Monday: Lentil brown rice casserole with garden salad
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Baked chicken, peas and potatoes
Thursday: leftover buffet
Friday: Anniversary dinner out!

Check out Laura's blog for more menu planning ideas!

birthday.date.fun.

What a busy week/weekend! My family is at their cottage and we have been doing lots of visiting and birthday celebrating. Tim had a birthday celebration with my parents and two youngest sisters first at the lake. Charlotte made a card for Daddy, trying out crayons for the first time!

We had a great time, it is always nice to be at the lake and in for a swim. A while ago I posted how stressful it was with her there, but she is much better now. She wants to play and interact instead of grab wires, and that really helps with the stress level. She loves being outside and walking around in the grass. She loves the lake too!


The following night was Tim's actual birthday and he got his wish! I arranged a babysitter for Charlotte (thanks Shanie!!) and we went down the road to eat some dinner. I was anxious... what if she needed to nurse? What if she freaked out? What do you know.............. she was absolutely fine! And I didn't even call once!! It was so nice to be out together, I think we are going to make it a bi-weekly thing. Maybe even once a week, when things stop being so crazy around here.

Tim had a wing feast..... it was wing night! (Trying out the no glasses look as I gave him contacts for his b-day!)

We had a great time... can you tell? Now to plan our anniversary date this week. 5 years! Where did the time go........