The Regret

I got one of these a few years ago. It sat in my closet for a year collecting dust. When a co-worker mentioned wanting one I sold it to her for 200 bucks! Now I am thinking of cooking and stuff and I kinda wish I still had it. But then again, I've only used my hand-mixer once in four years...It was a big mess. Do you have one? Should I get another?

The Miracle

I've crossed another item off my Baby Bucket List... Possibly the most difficult one to accomplish, it's really a miracle, and you're know what I mean if you're read THIS... I feel comfortable in the kitchen.

I'm trying not to get my hopes too high... It's only been a few items, but a few items is better than no times right? I've made four meals... three from scratch in the last two weeks... And trust me this is A HUGE accomplishment (if you've read this blog or know me you know what I mean)!

We had a couple from church over last week and they ate my Stromboli. I got the recipe from a friend at work. She let me copy it out of a little magazine she had and said she made it and it was pretty easy. I went through and copied several recipes. Here's how I decide if I'm going to cook something.

1. Does the picture looks good? If "yes" then go to #2

2. How many ingredients are needed? If more than six it's out of the question. If six or less, go to #3.

3. Do I understand all of the ingredients? This one is tricky because most of the time the answer is "no," but if I can figure it out using my "Goggle" and "phone-a-friend" lifelines then I'll usually give it a go.

The Stromboli barely passed... I didn't understand garlic cloves, and almost used two entire garlic heads instead of what the recipe called for... Two minced garlic cloves. Luckily, my MIL bailed me out before it was too late. Above was the finished product (but in leftover form).

Sunday was casserole day at my job. I had been craving peach cobbler and we needed some dessert stuff so I decided to try to make peach cobbler. I looked up a recipe on allrecipes.com, found an easy one and had hubby go get the ingredients for me while I was at work Saturday. This morning I threw it all together and it turned out yummy!!

It's actually FUN for me to cook now! Looking for recipes is a little time consuming but I've found when I'm craving something, or get a good review about something, I'll give it a try! My favorite part about cooking is having people say they like my stuff... Including hubby. He has been really nice and helped me get all of the stuff together, he even helped me make the Stromboli.

My skill is definitely a work in progress but I'm feeling more comfortable now and actually enjoying it. It's also making me feel more "motherly" which is fun. That way when my kids are too old for breast milk I may actually be able to make them solid food.

So come on friends! Send me your favorite recipes and sites! I'm all for trying them out now! And thanks for all of your encouragement in the past, it's really helped.

HELP! I Need Your Recipes!

If you know me, you know I'm NOT a cook. But as my appetite grows bigger and bigger the more I'm realizing I need to find more things to cook and fast, or I'm going to turn Spawnie into a double cheeseburger meal! I'm not a big chef... Not in the least. Usually the thought of cooking a new recipe sends me into a mild panic attack to be followed by a migraine as I try to decipher the steps to make it.

Last year I took a stab at making more foods. I joined a frozen meal making group with my church, and made 3 frozen meals to store... Two of them are still in my freezer. At least when I'm ready to make them the directions are on the bag as there's no way I'd remember how to cook what's in them.

My friend gave me a recipe for stomboli, and it's become one of my favorites to make. The first couple of times I made it, it took me several hours to translate the ingredient: "A clove of garlic"? what the heck is that? "Genova Salami," as opposed to regular?.. I had no idea there were so many kinds of a simple meat. I bought my first bottle of olive oil to make that recipe, and it came out really good!

About my third time making it for us I got a little cocky and rushed it. I accidentally turned the oven up an extra 100 degrees and sadly, this was the result:Luckily I have such a sweet husband cause although it was burnt black, he ate it anyway and told me the inside was good.

I've gotten a little more confidence since then and started making things that I was craving from scratch. Like beignets and peach cobbler for example. And I was beginning to stock up on what are basic cooking and baking essentials for many.While I haven't personally felt like I've succeeded in accomplishing my goal of "learning how to cook" I have crossed off the Baby Bucket List the desire to "feel more comfortable in the kitchen." Now that I'm more comfortable, I need to know what else to make.

Cookbooks intimidate me. I usually judge a recipe by:
1. How pretty the picture looks
2. How many ingredients I understand.
3. How many ingredients there are (more than 5-8 breaks me into a nervous sweat reading it).
4. How long it takes to make.

Usually flipping through books I only spot a select few that fit my immediate qualifications. I was getting good at eating healthy when I had the goal of getting pregnant, now I've been slacking a little. As a part of my "Future Mama" journey on Modern Mom, they hooked me up with nutritionist, Julie Hammerstein, and she was able to give me A LOT of good tips on what types of meals are good, and what to make sure I'm eating, so now I'm more inspired to MAKE stuff.

So I've decided to turn to you... My fellow blog friends! Please please please leave your recipe ideas! I've started using allrecipes.com which is great, but it's sometimes hard to use if I'm not sure what I'm looking to cook, and daunting when people leave all of those extra comments about what to add/take out.

So if you know something that would be easy for a culinary talent-deprived mom-to-be please share! I'm hoping to get quite a few recipes down pat before Spawnie gets here! If you have some already written on your blog I've put up a linky for you to add it. just put the name of the recipe in the title and link to that post!

Also please let me know book ideas and anything else you think would be helpful!

Lactation Cookies: Show Me What You're Makin' Monday

That's right. Lactation Cookies! No, they're not made with breast milk but made FOR breast milk. I heard of these way back when, before I was even pregnant. I remembered them a couple of weeks ago when I started to worry a little about my supply. It's been up and down a little since I've been back at work and I kinda have been thinking I'd try a few easy things that could help. And what better excuse to eat cookies?

Hardier Lime

I looked up my previous post on the topic and found Hardier Lime's shop and bought mix for a dozen oatmeal raisin milk enhancing cookies! I think it was only like $8 for a dozen, not bad!

Believe it or not I didn't have vanilla so it took me a week or so to get around to buying some, then another week before I got around to making them. Today was the perfect day since I was down in the dumps about spilling a bottle of breast milk after pumping *sad face*.

I just started taking an herbal supplement with feungreek (more on that later) and I thought these cookies would not only cheer me up, but help as well.

The instructions were super easy and I never, and I mean hardly EVER (maybe once every few months) bake. So I was so happy with how quick and easy these were. It normally takes me reading the directions time and time again to make sure I don't screw it up, but even with me reading these 5Xs it only took about 20 minutes total to make, including the 8-10min baking time.

I just took them out of the oven and took a bite and they are SOOOO yummy!

What do you think? Want to try? Everyone who leaves a comment before next Monday the 15th will be entered to win a bag of these milk enhancing cookies! Follow @hardierlime on twitter or link up to What I'm Makin' Monday below and get an extra entry. Just leave an extra comment to let me know!

Winner will be announced on my Facebook Page.

What did you make this week? Share on What I'm Makin' Monday. It can be food, a craft, a tip, anything!

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5 tips for treating 5 more kinds of diaper rash.

Since my last post on diaper rashes, I have had several questions about types of lesser-known diaper rashes. Though some of these rashes aren't exclusive to the diaper area, a rash that is in the diaper region often needs a slightly different method of treatment due to the extremes of the environment. Any time your baby has a rash that lasts more than a few days, and is peculiar in either the location or the appearance, you should consult your pediatrician.

1. For a diaper rash caused by heat, use cool water, cotton diapers and aloe vera.

Prickly heat is a common name for these itchy skin bumps caused by over-heating. The hive-like bumps normally appear in the most tender areas, like inner elbows, behind the knees or under arms. These red itchy bumps can also appear on your baby's undercarriage. The first thing to do is to get your baby cooled off, and make sure he is hydrated. Give him a clean wet cloth to suck on while you wipe down his body with another. Turn a fan on in the room if possible, or use whatever kind of make-shift fan you can fashion to blow air across your baby's behind. Treat the bumps with aloe vera, then if you have cloth diapers, put them on your baby. I would leave your baby in nothing but the cloth diapers for a bit while he cools off.

2. For a diaper rash from chafing, use bag balm, disposable diapers and a hair dryer.
Sometimes sagging wet diapers will rub between your baby's thighs and private parts causing some chafing. This bright red swollen and dry area, which is not generally located as if it were a result of contact with waste, can be quite painful for your baby, especially if any urine gets on it. Wash the area thoroughly, then use a hair dryer on the cool setting to make sure your baby's but and the chapped area are as dry as they can be. Then coat the entire area in a thick layer of bag balm. This should help the chafed area retain moisture, so that it can heal more quickly. Since these type of rashes happen more often with cloth diapers, I recommend that parents get a little pack of chlorine free diapers in one size smaller than your baby would wear normally (this is to encourage a snug and less-bulky fit), and use these until the rash is healed. If your baby needs to go down for the night, however, you can use the cloth diapers since chafing is caused by the friction between a wet diaper and your baby's legs while kicking and wiggling, which does not generally happen as much at night, especially if your baby is fully swaddled.

3. For fungal diaper rashes, use tea tree oil, lanolin and vitamin E.

The most common form of fungal diaper rash is caused by a fungus called "Candida Albicans", which is commonly referred to as yeast. There are other types of fungal rashes, however, but luckily they generally all respond to the same types of treatment. With any fungal rash it is very important not to use cornstarch, since fungus generally like to feed on the sugars in cornstarch, and it will only make the rash worse. In my first post about diaper rashes, I talk about some very effective treatments for yeast-based rashes, but there are a few more things you might try, for any fungal rash, even if it isn't specifically a yeast infection. First thoroughly clean your baby's bottom with water then spray a fine mist of tea tree oil (a powerful natural anti-fungal) and water (mixed in a ratio of 1 tablespoon oil to 2 cups water), over your baby's bottom and let it air-dry for as long as your baby is comfortable. Then apply a small amount of vitamin E to the red swollen areas. I do this by poking a pin into a vitamin E capsule and squeezing the oil out onto my son's bottom. After the vitamin E has had a moment or two to absorb, coat the entire area with lanolin. I used the small tubes of lanolin that I had purchased to help reduce nipple dryness while nursing. This should effectively seal the rash away from any contact with more waste or moisture, which should effectively starve the fungus, and allow your baby's bottom to heal more rapidly.

4. For a teething diaper rash, use Aquaphor, Johnson's medicated baby powder and sunshine.

One of the most difficult rashes to treat is the teething rash. The teething rash is caused both by increased acid in your baby's urine and diarrhea from your baby swallowing too much excess saliva. In my first post on diaper rashes I describe treatments for acidic rashes, but since the teething rash is sometimes resistant to the regular methods, these measures are a bit more drastic. First, wash your baby's caboose, then lay him bare booty side up on a safe surface with fresh air circulating, and if possible get some actual sunshine on his cute little rump (not more than 5 minutes or so, you don't want him to get a sunburn). When his hind end is nice and dry, slather on a thick layer of Aquaphor, cover everything with a dusting of Johnson's medicated baby powder, and replace your little peanut's diaper.

5. For a diaper rash that is the result of a fever, use chamomile tea, yogurt and baking soda.
Fevers can often cause a combination rash that is partly an acidic reaction rash, and partly a heat rash. For this kind of irritation, I find that calming the area with a gentle wash with a chilled chamomile tea helps sooth the pain while cooling the area off. Then a coating of cool plain non-sweetened yogurt helps neutralize acid and reduce the heat as well. Finishing off with a layer of baking soda keeps everything in place when you replace the diaper, and helps to neutralize the acids as well.

I think this will cover any possible diaper rash your little sugar lump is likely to encounter. If you try any of these tips and have either no improvement over the course of 3 days or your baby's rash gets worse, talk to your pediatrician. Most rashes are harmless and will go away pretty quickly once treated, however, there is the possibility that your baby could develop an infection if an open sore gets exposed to harmful bacteria. If your baby has open sores on her rear end, be sure to treat them with an antiseptic such as Neosporin before applying additional treatment. All babies get diaper rashes, and most parents will find their own favorite cures and treatments, hopefully having just a few more things to try if what you are doing isn't working will help wipe out your baby's diaper rash a bit faster. If you find these tips helpful, please do forward them to any other new or expecting parents. Questions and comments are welcome. Happy parenting!

By: Naomi Tripi
http://tripibabytips.blogspot.com