Paleo/Primal Baking

Since having L I've been really motivated to lose the baby weight.  I'm in a wedding in July and I was still holding on to 10 lbs from J when I got pregnant, so I'm eager to get it off.  I'm currently doing the Couch to 5K running plan and it's going well.  Diet wise I try to stick to a mostly paleo/primal diet.  For those are wondering "what?" here's a link (I wouldn't do a good job explaining it and I'm sure I'd piss someone off, so you get a link): http://thepaleodiet.com/ and http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/#axzz2QRrQBqux

Dinners for us are mostly a meat (salmon, chicken, pork, steak, etc.) and veggies.  I try to do 1-2 crock-pot meals a week and 1-2 meatless meals a week.  I also do 1 non-primal meal each week.  This is usually something I can double and freeze, like lasagna rolls, or it's tacos (not gonna lie, it's usually tacos).  I plan out dinners each Sunday then do my grocery shopping based on what I need.  Lunches for me and M are either leftovers of dinner or salads.  I don't typically plan out breakfast.  M doesn't eat it and I'm good with eggs and fruit.  But this weekend I decided to expand my primal horizons and try some paleo/primal baking.

My first attempt was banana bread from this recipe I found on Pinterest: http://robbwolf.com/2011/04/21/recipe-paleo-banana-bread/

It was...different.  The recipe says to bake a loaf pan for 30 minutes.  Mine wasn't ready then.  I ended up baking it for almost an hour then stopped because the edges were going to burn.  It was still rather moist in the middle.  J and I ate some, but we weren't very impressed.  Well, this morning I decided to get it out of the fridge and toast it and see how it was.  Turns out it's much better the next day.  I put some butter on mine and had 2 slices.  J just finished off his 3rd piece, walnuts and all!  Love when that kid gobbles stuff up.  So overall, it's a pretty good substitute for regular banana bread, but next time I make it I'll bake it at night and have it the next morning.

Next up...paleo pancakes!

New Routines

Adjusting to having 2 kids can be tough.  I think I have been very blessed with this transition.  J has taken to being a big brother very easily, and L has been a great baby.  He had jaundice when he came home so much of the first 2-3 weeks of his life were spent sleeping.  Now he's a very portable, easy going baby.  I've also been blessed with 11 weeks of paid maternity leave.  So J continues to go to daycare and I spend the day with L at home.  Now that my maternity leave is nearing a close I'm working on getting everyone into good morning and evening routines so I don't lose my marbles when I start back to work.

Our Morning Routine
I have to be at work at 8:30 am.  Right now I don't have as much to get ready (bottles, work clothes, etc.), but the idea is that this routine will transfer easily once I need all of that stuff.

6 am - I get up.  If L is up I nurse him, if not I shower.
6:30 am - shower or feed L
6:45-7:15 am - get dressed/ready, coffee, breakfast for me
7:15 am - get J up, go potty, brush teeth
7:20-7:45 am - clothes and breakfast for J, get bags packed, get L in car seat
7:50 am - out the door to the car
8 am - off to daycare

Obviously the times don't always line up - things come up (literally, like spit up), or J decides he'd rather run around the front yard than get in his car seat.  But I'm working to keep to this schedule as much as possible.  I'm hoping (rather optimistically) that when I start back work I can get up at 5:30 with M and run on the treadmill.  I used to do this at work on my lunch break, but since I'll be pumping 3x's a day I won't have time.

Our Evening Routine
We currently get home earlier than we will when I'm working since I can leave to get J earlier and avoid traffic.  But times below are what they will be when I'm working.

5:45-6 pm - get home from work/daycare
6-6:20 pm - feed L
6:30 pm - bath time for L; if I am bathing him then M is getting dinner ready and vice versa
7 pm - bed time for L, dinner for the rest of us
7:30 pm - play time with J
8 pm - bath time for J; whoever put L down for bed does dishes while the other one puts J to bed
8:30 - bed time for J
9-10 pm - get everything read for the next day; this includes coffee, lunches, sippy cups, bottles (when I'm working), and packing bags.  I think I'll even be putting bags into the car when I'm back to work.  Getting out the door with a toddler, car seat, toddler back pack and diaper bag is tough now.  Adding a cooler bag, pump bag and purse will be even harder!
10 pm - bed time for me and M!

Again, I don't expect to stick to these exact times.  Even now I'm dealing with L's fussy time all through dinner (he pretty much fusses from 7-10 pm), and J's bedtime gets pushed back past 8 pm a lot.  But if M and I know this is the schedule it will makes things so much easier when I'm trying to get out the door in the morning.

What are your routines?  What kind of time saving tips do you use?

Long Time, No Post

So it's been a while since my last post.  I blame this little guy:

Baby L arrived on February 6th (a month early! A birth story post is in the works) and I've been adjusting to life with 2 kids.  I think I'm getting my routine down now, and I've managed to find a few minutes between dinner and bath time to make a quick post.

A few things I'm hoping to post about in the near future:

• Our new routines (morning and evening)
• Menu planning
• My new planner
• My office space
• L's birth story
• Binders, binders and more binders!

No idea how I'll keep up with it all when I get back to work.  Maybe posting on my lunch break...

The baby is coming, the baby is coming!

Well, not quite yet, exactly.

Last week I had my 35 week appointment and as it turns out I have started dilating.  The doctor decided that between that and my weight gain (4 lbs in one week - I'm swollen, lay off me) he was going to put me on the monitor to check the baby.  Baby was "fabulous", as the nurse put it, but she also informed me that I was having contractions.  Huh, I wasn't feeling those.  She predicted it would be about a week longer and then...baby time.

This news sent me into a bit of a panic.  Not because the baby would be early, we're good there (J was born at 37 weeks), but because of the amount of stuff I have left on my to-do list.  There's bottles to sterilize, and a trip to Target, a house to clean, a pack and play to set up, a cabinet to re-organize, car seats that need installing...the list goes on.  My next thought was "If I do all this I'll end up in labor!"  You see, with J when that nesting urge hit I was put on bedrest.  So I spent 3 weeks on my couch looking around the house at all of the things I needed to do.  The minute I was allowed off bedrest I was like a maniac getting everything done and boom, a week later he arrived into the world.  So I'm trying to prioritize the most important things (cleaning the house, Target for those last few baby must haves, like a changing pad) and I'm trying to let go of the less important items that my husband can do while I'm at the hospital (car seats, pack and play).  We'll get there, and if I end up not sterilizing a bottle until the baby actually need ones, no one is going to die.

Freezer Meals

I had the day off today so I finally had time to get to one of those nesting projects that's been nagging at me: Freezer Meals.

I did not make freezer meals with my first and I remember wishing during that horrible 5-6 pm witching hour that I had.  It was so tough trying to get dinner ready with an infant that only wanted to be held, hated his swing, and refused to sleep.  I ended up putting him in my Moby Wrap while making and eating dinner, all the while thinking "gee, if I had just made some things that I could pop in the oven/crock pot this would all be so much easier".  Well this time around, I'm making the damn freezer meals!

After lunch I took the dog and J for a long walk with the hope the walk would tire them both out and give me some time alone in the kitchen.  It worked!  J was happy to sit on the couch and watch a movie and the dog was passed out on the floor somewhere.  Nap time finally arrived around 3-something (yes, those are underwear over his footie PJ's and yes, those are his snow boots - I pick my battles).

During their quiet time I worked on getting 5 lbs of ground beef into freezer bags for future use.  I ended up making:

• 2 lbs ground beef for Sloppy Joe's or spaghetti sauce
• 2 lbs taco meat 
• 4 hamburger patties

These are in addition to a pound of ground beef for spaghetti sauce and a pound of pre-mixed meatloaf muffins that I already had in the freezer.  We're also having chicken taco soup tonight for dinner and I put the 2nd bag into the freezer to have later.  (please ignore the dirtiness on my iPad screen - it pretty much belongs to J at this point and he isn't the best about wiping his hands before playing Color Drops - thank goodness for screen protectors)

I can't take credit for the inspiration/recipes here.  I have Pinterest boards overflowing with crock pot and freezer meal ideas.  The chicken taco soup comes from Six Cents (recipe here) and the ideas for the 4 bags of ready to use ground beef are from A Turtle's Life For Me.  The patties are just ground beef, some dried minced onion, garlic powder and Worcestshire sauce.

I'm sure this will come in handy sometime in March while I'm trying to manage a newborn, 2 y.o. and husband.  I have a lot more meals I plan to make, but this was a good start and I already feel better knowing I've gotten at least 1 item off my massive baby-prep to-do list.

Now someone come rub my feet.

Inaugural Post

As this is my first post and it's Inaugural weekend, the title seemed appropriate :)

Why start this blog?  Well, honestly, to make myself get some projects done and keep myself sane.  I'm currently 34 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child, deep in nesting phase, and overwhelmed with the projects and to-do lists running through my mommy-brain.  We're also working through renovating our first home, which I know will make things more "interesting" with 2 boys under 3 years old.  My hope is to make this a place to post projects, ideas and any tips I learn along the way.

Some projects I'm hoping to complete/post soon include:

• Organizing the bottle/sippy cup/bowl cabinet
• Nursery set-up/organization
• My 2013 personal planner
• Re-organizing those lower kitchen cabinets (you know the ones, overflowing with cookie sheets and pot lids that make you want to scream every time you need a pie pan)

Now that I've put it out there I better get started on at least one of these!