A Random Ramble

Sorry, you won't get any cute photos today, just my thoughts. I have a lot of them rolling around my head today...

• I don't like baby gates. Yes they keep my child safe, but at 12:30 a.m. when the baby is screaming and you can't get the stupid thing out of the way, you ponder risking your life and the possibility that if you jump the gate, you won't land as intended and roll down the stairs possibly breaking a bone. Eventually, I got it moved out of the way.

• When babies sleep past their usual wake-up your mind goes crazy. I don't dare open his door to check on him and risk waking him up, but I think about standing there listening intently for a little breathing noise...I don't think that urge as a parent ever goes away.

• I really need to dust and vacuum, but I want to establish a routine for cleaning and I want Friday's to be my lazy day. That means I will get to it next week ;)

• I am determined to create a meal plan for next week and not spend a fortune at the grocery store. I always buy for random meals and half of what was good and fresh goes bad because I didn't have specific plans for it. 

• Trying to figure out a true feeding schedule for a little one transitioning over to solids is IMPOSSIBLE. Who knows what I will tell them at Camden's 9 month check-up. "One day he wouldn't eat so he had five bottles, but he did have food off my plate and then two other days he only had two bottles because he was hungry and ate lots of food." Anyone else struggle with this???

• Someone finally cut their sixth tooth...hopefully we have some relief soon. He has been chewing on his fingers like crazy today even, but this poor child is only 9 months old and has 6 teeth!

• Lastly, I have about a million ideas for projects to accomplish this weekend and will be lucky if I get one checked off my list. Most likely I will wake up tomorrow and decide I don't care and say we should be lazy then proceed to send Mat out for a pumpkin spice latte and a cheese danish while I sit on the couch in my pjs playing Yahtzee on my phone. Regardless, I am always relieved to have help on the weekend.

Have a great weekend whether it is super productive or lazy...just enjoy it either way!

Setting Goals

Goals drive me and the effort I put into something. I think it has to do with my Type A personality. I set mental goals all the time, but when I write them down, I usually carry through and do something about them.

Here are a few that have been rolling around in my head lately that I really want to accomplish. I have decided that I would set different kinds of goals so that I can focus on different areas of my life.

WEIGHT LOSS GOAL

I still have baby weight to lose. I was so positive that when Camden hit 9 months I would be back to my old size...nine months and a 5 hour move later, I am still 8 pounds over the weight I was when I visited the doctors office to confirm I was pregnant.

Weight has been a struggle for me ever since I went to college. After freshman year I started packing on the pounds and didn't stop until I had been married a few years. When I saw 189 on the scale I knew I had to do something.

I still look at this photo in disbelief. I really hit it hard with dieting and exercising and dropped over thirty pounds with watching what I ate. Soon I started running and even began CrossFit. When Mat and I were in Hawaii I was around 10 weeks pregnant, but in great shape.

During pregnancy I somehow managed to put on 50 pounds. This is something I never thought I would do and I have been fighting ever since Camden was born to get back to where I was...fighting at least part of the time.

Because I had a lot more muscle mass at 154 pounds and know I won't have that back anytime soon, my goal weight is 145. I would love to get lower than that, but dropping below 150 was a struggle when I was active in CrossFit and running 20+ miles a week. 

By the end of the year I hope to be at 152. That would be a 10 pound weight loss in about 2.5 months.

WATER INTAKE

I try to drink water fairly often, but much of the time, I just drink whenever I think about it and then don't hit my goal. 

I try to drink 75 ounces a day and would eventually like to hit 100, but I need to let my body adjust before I up my intake.

BOOKS TO READ

I like to read, but often go through phases where I read all the time then I don't read for weeks on end (except Facebook ;)). 

I am making it my goal to read my current book, Girl on the Train, by the end of the month and two others before the end of the year. I have an idea on one I will read that is sitting on my nightstand, but I need to pick another one.

ORGANIZATION

Since we moved our house has been chaos. I am so sick of it and yesterday I started the process of organizing the master closet. We have a big closet and I just knew we would have tons of extra space, but we have managed to fill it with no problem. I pulled a bunch of summer shirts to get rid of yesterday and plan to go through my winter clothes and shoes today. I will dedicate a post to my closet organization once it is complete.

Mat and I have said we want to finish our room, bathroom, closet, Camdens room and the garage by the end of the year. When I say "finish" I mean painted and decorated...DONE!

Hopefully some additional organization will take place in there too. I would love to have the main floor and upstairs all organized by the end of the year, but I am not holding my breath.

MAKING GOALS A REALITY

I have decided to keep myself accountable by updating you all at the first of each month through the end of the year to see my progress. I also want to print my goals out and hang them where I will see them daily to remind me the importance of accomplishing them.

For now, I leave this subject and will check in with you in about two weeks with my first goal update!

Current Baby Feeding Favorites

I am not a fan of feeding my child. I may sound mean to some of you, but I will be honest and tell you I don't find any joy in it, except the funny faces Camden makes when he really doesn't like something. For reference, this was after eating beef and beef broth. Anything beef is usually one of his favorites, but not today.

WHY REVIEW PRODUCTS YOU ASK...

When I found out I was expecting I craved reading blogs of others in my shoes. I have been reading the same blogs for close to three years now and I had three froggers (translation: bloggers who I don't know and have never met, but I feel like we are friends because I read about their lives and anything they blog about) who had been through pregnancy and birth. Literally every week I went back to their blogs and read about what they experienced that week. All of them had gone into labor early so I hoped I would too, but that didn't happen.

Anyway, right before Camden came four of my other froggers announced that they were expecting! It was so exciting to read their announcement posts, but I was craving insider mommy information that they weren't equipped with yet. 

All of that to say, I am getting more product reviews than ever before for a stage my little man has already gone through. Thankfully, sometimes I run across some that are perfect for Cam's stage and this this first item was one of them. 

FISHER-PRICE EASY-CLEAN TEETHE 'N FEED

Lindsay over at Pillow Thought posted a video a couple weeks ago where she used the Fisher-Price Easy-Clean Teethe 'n Feed. I decided I needed one and ordered it right away on Amazon only to be immediately frustrated when I found out it would be weeks before it came in.

It didn't take weeks, but when it did arrive I had no idea what my husband had ordered. No joke, I sent Mat a text asking what he ordered from JAPAN. When I opened the package I realized what it was, but as you can see, all the writing was in Japanese. If you order this item from Amazon, remember the above information.

This thing is AMAZING!!! I started out putting ice in it just so Camden could get used to it. He is a huge fan of ice (is every kid like that???) and HE immediately took to it.

Yesterday, I decided to freeze yogurt in the little tray. I simply spooned yogurt into each section and put the lid on before popping it in the refrigerator. After I gave it enough time to freeze, and Camden was in his highchair with a bib on, I loaded the strawberry up. He LOVED it! When he would finish he would scream for another.

I will note that getting the food out of the tray is hard. Maybe there were directions for doing so on the package, but we all know I can't read that. I put a little warm water in my sink and let it sit for a few minutes and they came right out for me. 

Also, I don't know about any of you, but the Teethe 'n Feed toys with the mesh bag thing gross me out. This one is rubber so it just feels cleaner and even with nothing in it, it is great for teething little ones to chew on.

MUNCHKIN FRESH FOOD MAKER FOOD PROCESSOR

Today when Camden was eating lunch I realized that I didn't have any baby food fruit left. We usually eat fruit for breakfast and he was out. I looked in the pantry and found some mandarine oranges and decided to pull out one of my baby shower gifts and put it to good use. I don't know all the retailers who carry this little food processor, but I know Walmart carries it. 

All I did was load it up with oranges and turn it on. I was worried that with the blade spacing I would have a lot of chunks left, but it was pureed perfectly! I won't lie, I have plans to use this little guy to whip up some pesto soon. I know it isn't as powerful as my larger food processor, but it does the trick, is much easier to use and isn't as clunky (<-- is that even a word?).

BOON SQUIRT SILICONE BABY FOOD SPOON

Since I had a bunch of orange puree and I knew he couldn't eat it all, I filled up the freezer tray for the  Fisher-Price Feeder and put it in the freezer. I still had some left after that so I used my Boon SQUIRT Silicone Baby Food Spoon to feed Camden the rest. Needless to say, he didn't finish it off, but this spoon has a handy lid for storage in the refrigerator. 

I really like this spoon, but with guidelines on how long you can/should (I probably keep some around too long) keep baby food refrigerated and feeding multiple foods a day, I find myself turning to regular spoons a lot. It does make feeding much easier and I prefer to use it for foods with meat in them, but I don't like doing dishes just to have this spoon clean for the next meal.

I really hope that if you have a little one that is eating food or will be in the future, you might have a good idea or two for products that can make the job a little easier. I knew because I didn't like to feed Camden he wasn't getting as much food as he should at this age. I am happy to say, he now eats three meals a day, most without fussing, and as for bottles, today he took a 6 ounce in the morning and when I tried to give him some before his nap this afternoon he didn't take it. Maybe we have this figured out more than we thought!

A QUESTION FOR YOU

Do you have any favorite baby feeding essentials?

9 Month Update

Where has the time gone? I can't believe we are already at 9 months!

The last couple weeks have been full of changes for our little guy. I feel like he has slowly grown and picked up more skills as time has gone by, but now, just within the last couple weeks, the changes are coming at an alarming rate!

Camden has never been a fan of laying on his stomach. Mat and I weren't the best about making sure he had plenty of "tummy time" and did it when we remembered. Then, living in a camper for over two months didn't allow for the best conditions to do so. Anyway, on October first, Camden started rolling over in his sleep. This meant many trips up to his room to save him by rolling him back over. Only a day or two later, he began sleeping on his stomach comfortably.

A few days later, October 5th to be exact, I came upstairs after much fussing from the little guy to find him sitting in his crib. Of course I did the mom thing and told him not to move so I could get my phone and take a photo.

Fast forward a few days to Saturday, October 10th. Camden was in his crib supposed to be napping and I can hear him slapping something so I go upstairs to find him standing in his crib!

One day later, yesterday, he started crawling. Like legitimate crawling, not the inchworm scoot crawl.

So, as you can see, we have had a lot of changes lately. Camden also has five teeth right now and is working on his sixth. Most of his teeth have come in pretty easily, but this has been a tough one for sure.

When it comes to sleeping, that isn't going too well. Some days I think I should accept the fact that I may never sleep a full night again. Camden usually wakes up a time or two (sometimes more) each night. We just have to give him his pacifier and he goes back down without a problem. Lately, he seems to be going through a growth spurt and has required nighttime bottles.

I don't know his actual weight or length, but I will get that information week after next when we go in for his 9 month appointment. Everyone says they think he looks big for his age, but he doesn't seem that big to us. He wears 9 months clothes, but barely fits into most pants of that size because they are too big. Camden had trouble gaining weight after he was born and has never been a baby with rolls. He has a tiny waist and a big head.

I still can't believe we have managed to survive 9 months. Sometimes it seems like it has flown, while other times, it seems like it has taken forever to get here. One thing is for sure, Mat and I love this little man with all our hearts and wouldn't trade him for the world!

All photo credit goes to my lovely sister. She just previewed these for us today and I can't wait to see the rest of them. If you live in south Missouri be sure to look her up!

Mellocreme Pumpkins

Is anyone else highly addicted to the small orange mellocreme pumpkins that come out each fall? After being gone for a couple days I came home to a bowl of these that my husband placed next to my computer and I am slightly embarrassed to admit that more than half of the bowl is gone. Hey, when they are gone they won't be there to tempt me!

I wish all of you a great weekend! I have no idea what is on the agenda here for the next couple days, but I have a feeling that The Walking Dead and a bowl of popcorn will show up somewhere!

My Weekend

Good afternoon! I had hoped to get this post out earlier this morning, but haven't been feeling the best. On top of that, the little guy seems to be teething again and is already down for his second nap of the day. While today hasn't started out as I had hoped, we had a great weekend, so, lets get the the highlights of that!

Friday night Camden decided to sleep through the night and Mat let me sleep in a little bit too. A little extra sleep always makes for a better mood.

Originally we had planned to take a morning walk, but the above mentioned sleeping in knocked out that idea. Mat and I had talked about upgrading our phones and we made what was supposed to be a quick trip to Verizon that lasted two hours I think. We left with Mat's new phone...the iPhone 6S and mine has been ordered...the iPhone 6S Plus. Yes, it is a huge phone, but I am on mine throughout the day and think I would get a lot of use out of the larger screen. It's not supposed to ship for about a month so I have some time to find a case before it gets here.

Since Verizon put us so far behind on our plans, we actually came back home to eat our "fun food" lunch before heading to the zoo. Before we took off to meet friends at the zoo we did make a quick stop by Starbucks where I got an iced Pumpkin Spice Latte. It wasn't especially warm that day, but it hit the spot!

Once we got to the zoo we walked around for about 3 hours or so enjoying all the animals. We had visited the zoo a few weeks ago and didn't get to see it all so this time we hit up the unseen areas!

The critters in the below photo are kangaroos. There is actually a path that goes around the grassy area where they can hop around right where you walk. We didn't get to see any up close, but we enjoyed watching them.

Once it got to be around 5 o'clock, we decided to head back to the car. Mat and I haven't had a lot of date nights since Camden was born and had asked some friends if they would watch Camden for us. We met them around 6 at the house and headed to eat at Red Lobster. I have to say that seafood is my favorite and I ordered exactly what I was craving...crab legs!

On Sunday we got up a little earlier that usually to check out a new church. I have never felt more welcome at a church! Everyone was SO friendly and welcoming to us. We definitely plan to go back and hopefully attend a Sunday School class. After their service concluded, we headed up the road to a friends church for their service as well.

Sunday afternoon I put together the recipe I mentioned in Friday's blog post. I wanted to be fancy and use an actual recipe template, but I haven't had enough time to figure that it out. I did download one if that counts for anything!

I learned to make this soup in college when the family I lived with part of the time made it. It is so easy and easily customized! I tend to buy the generic brand of canned goods for the most part, but stick with ROTEL and not some off brand. On this batch I combined the following ingredients in my crockpot and let it set on the 6 hour setting until dinner time.

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1 can Kidney Beans

1 can Black Beans

1 can Pinto Beans

1 can Whole Kernel Corn

1 can Rotel (your preference on heat)

1 lb. Ground Beef

1 package Taco Seasoning

Directions:

1.  Brown 1 lb. of ground beef and drain off grease. 

2.  Combine all ingredients into Crock Pot. Set according to when you will need your meal complete. 

3.  Top as desired.

4.  Enjoy!

I tend to prefer topping mine with shredded cheese, sour cream and pepper flakes. We didn't have any sour cream on hand so I didn't get that, but it was still so delicious and warmed me right up. Skip the spoon and eat it with Fritos or Tostitos to get a good crunch!

That's all I have for today. Camden is already on his third nap (this has taken me four hours to type up with a cranky baby) and will be getting some tylenol when he wakes back up. My mom is coming into town tonight and we head down to south Missouri tomorrow to spend some time with my sister and her husband. I don't know if I will get an opportunity to blog again until Thursday, but I may try to check back in at some point!

Have a great week!

We Lost a Shoe

Yep, it finally happened. We lost our first shoe on our walk this morning. The trail we usually go down is two miles out and two back. I didn't realize that the shoe was missing until we were already on our way back and didn't find it before we got to the car. I kinda hope I will come across it next week, but i'm not holding my breath.

Sadly, our walk wasn't as good as I had hoped. The little guy wasn't feeling it at all and by the time we got back to the car he was crying. We managed just under four miles. At least he was happy and cute when I got him ready to leave the house!

He has started doing this cute thing when we walk and he really wants to see something. He is still small enough that he can't reach far, but he gets the edge of the tray on the stroller and pulls himself up. I can't help but laugh overtime I see him do it.

After our walk, I decided to run to Walmart (which I actually just spelled Walkmart, but that's about right). We needed a few things for the weekend and we are planning a trip to the zoo tomorrow to explore the areas we didn't get to see last time we were there. They let you bring in food so I grabbed a random assortment of stuff to take along. 

As for my goals today, I made the muffins and they are so good. Please make them now and thank we later! I opted for mini muffins because I think they are cute and I can eat more that way. The recipe made 48 of those little bad boys, which comes in at about 37 calories each!

The laundry is done and all put away and I have started the cleaning that needs to be done. The hubby probably won't be home until late tonight so I still have plenty of time to finish that up. 

Tonight we are having pizza, and while it won't be on the grill, making one that way is something we keep talking about doing and must try before it gets too cold. That and I am also determined to make a cauliflower crust, but not on the grill! Check out these pins I found for both of these pizza dreams...

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That does it for me! I have a fun and busy weekend planned and more cleaning to get to. I will be sure to fill you in on that Monday and I have one of my favorite cold weather crockpot recipes that I will be sharing too. Enjoy some time outdoors if you are having nice weather like we are here and if you aren't, I will try sending some your way!

A QUESTION FOR YOU

Have you ever made a pizza on the grill? Any tips?