Tried, Tested and True!

This week I was feeling ambitious and decided to try a few new recipes, all which turned out great and received the official "yeah you can make that again" from my husband. 

I love sweet potatoes and  I am always trying to find different ways to prepare them. This recipe was more like a dessert then a side, it literally melts in your mouth. Next year I am hosting Thanksgiving for my family, and while they are a pretty traditional bunch I think i am going to try to throw a curve ball at them ;)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/yummy-sweet-potato-casserole/detail.aspx

These oatmeal chocolate chip cookies were sooo yummy. They did not last very long. I baked about two minutes more then the suggested time since they didn't seem quite ready at the suggested 11 min mark. 

http://www.averiecooks.com/2014/11/the-best-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

This recipe was so satisfying, and it made a ton. It gave us enough to have dinner, both of us to have lunch the following day and I was able to freeze a large bowl for Max and I to share some night with Kirk works late. I put three chicken breasts in the crockpot. The end result was very thick because there was so much chicken in it, but my husband tends to comment on the quantity of meat in my dishes so I loaded up on this one.

http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2013/10/15-slow-cooker-recipes.html?m=1

Tonight I tried this salad. It is more a summer/fall salad but I was craving something like this, and I needed a side to go with the tilapia main dish. Since it was just the two us us eating the salad, I should have cut the dressing recipe in half. No use using pricey ingredients like honey when you don't need too. This was actually my first time making my own dressing. It was really good and fairly mild too which I like in a vinaigrette.

http://lecremedelacrumb.com/2014/10/apple-cranberry-walnut-salad.html

It has been a busy week at our house. It's days like today I wish there was 30 hours in the day.. or at least an extra two hours after Max goes to bed where I still feel awake enough to get things done. I am looking forward to the weekend. We are trimming our tree and going to the mall to browse, which honestly I have only done twice since Max was born last January. So I am e.x.c.i.t.e.d. 

... and because this would be a boring post without pictures, a little eye candy for you.. our holiday mantle and the cutest little pup modelling his festive sweater :) 

~K

Christmasey Nursery!

It's Friday morning. I drove to town early this morning during Max's nap so we could make the story time at our local library. I am sitting in the parking lot of one of our city's parks. I am listening to Taylor Swift (the Wonderland track to be exact), drinking a mocha (I highly recommend the new dark hot chocolate from Tims) and listening to the sweet sounds of my snoring baby in the backseat. Life is good and I can't complain, even though I have a crappy cold.

Now that I am working two days a week I am trying to make the most of my days off with Max and expose him to new environments where there's other children, knowing that in two and a half months from now he will be going to daycare three days a week. I know it will be good for him, but it still makes me sad to think about. Max is 10.5 months old now and his personality is really starting to shine. He is an observer when he's in a new environment. He likes to sit back and take it all in and he sometimes get upset when other babies make loud noises or if they get in his space too much. He has been getting a lot better with this in the past couple of weeks. He is a sweet and funny little boy and he loves to be at home in his own space.

His own space.. our home. I'm sure many of you will agree with me when I say that our home is our sanctuary. It contains items that hold valuable meaning from our childhoods, memories new and old , and it is where my family lives... the most important thing to me in the world. For years before I had Max I was obsessed with nurseries, wondering what my baby's nursery would end up looking like. I knew this space would be so important to me. Some people don't make much use of their nursery, some don't even have a nursery, but for me I knew we would spend a lot of time in that room and make memories together. I'll never forget the day we brought Max home from the hospital and I fed him and his nursery for the first time. As I rocked him in the rocking chair that belonged to my great aunt who means the world to me, I looked over at our maternity pictures that I had hung on the wall and I couldn't help but start crying. As I looked down at Max  I came to the realization that the baby boy who I had fell in love with the moment I set eyes on was the same baby I had carried inside of me for 41 weeks. I remember looking down at him and saying with surprise "oh my gosh that was you in there." It was the unreal feeling I had ever experienced.

I have gotten a little side tracked. Apparently T.S. and am caffeine makes me nostalgic. My point being that a nursery can be a very special place for a family. Everyone who knows me knows that love decorating for the holidays and Max's nursery is no exception. So, today I share with you some quick and easy ideas to make your nursery festive.. and let's be honest some of these things are not for Max, they are for me. We spend a lot of time in his nursery and seeing decorations in his room make me happy.

Every season I have hung something new from the mirror that hangs above the change table. In the summer we had a string of cocktail umbrellas (I know so appropriate right!?) In the fall we had a string of fall leaves, and yesterday I hung up a string of Christmas light bulbs. Max loves looking up at them during diaper changes and banging them against the mirror when he's getting dressed.

 

I found a package of monogrammed stockings at our local dollar tree and I scattered them throughout the room.

Window gels are cheap and fun for older babies to squish with their fingers. WARNING extreme supervision is required with these. The little letter "I" went missing from our trick or treat window sticker. It could have easily been thrown away by accident, and it has yet to come out from a specific end... but nonetheless every time he has a coughing spell I shutter and think "it's the letter I!" Hence why this one is up high.

#parentfail #ifeltliketheworstmotherever

We read a ton of books every day and so Christmastime gave me an excuse to buy more books for my babe. We like board books, books with flaps and touch and feel books. My white shelves from IKEA and they are very sturdy. Max will use them to stand and pull on them hard and they aren't going anywhere.

If you follow me on Instagram you will be in for a treat on Dec. 1st. The nursery will be sporting a mini Christmas Tree. It is taking everything in me not to put it up three weeks ago. If you don't follow me send a request! My Instagram is Kimmieflo. 

In the next couple of weeks I will be blogging about our attempt at making a teepee for Max. This is going to be one of his gifts from Santa. Wish us luck.. we will need it.

~ K

Traditions

I came across an article some time ago that spoke about family traditions.The article spoke about how tradition teaches children what makes their family special and unique. The article went on to say that when life gets in the way and changes inevitably occur, traditions stay the same and offer stability and comfort. I fully believe in this.

Growing up we had one television, located in the basement. Mealtime was always in our dining room on the main floor, so unless we were having a snack we never ate in front of the television except on special occasions. Every December when the Toronto Santa Claus parade was on TV we would get to eat our dinner on TV tables in the basement. I cannot tell you how exciting and special that Sunday was to me every "oh my gosh we don't own any TV tables!!!" TV tables are now officially 'on my radar' ;) 

Another special tradition we had was hanging are 'name bulbs' on the Christmas tree. The bulbs came from the Christmas store Bronners in Frankenmuth. My in-laws were there this past summer and picked up a special bulb for our tree this year. I can't wait to hang it. 

Since Max is still pretty little some of the traditions I hope to have, will have to wait for another year... like Elf on the Shelf, decorating Christmas cookies and decorating the tree while listening to the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas record (ALVIN!!!!!!) to name a few, but I do have a few ideas up my sleeve for this year. 

Festive cookie cutters are everywhere you look now. I picked up a snowman for under a dollar to use to stamp his toast.

Giving back to our community and neighbors is something that I want to instill in our children. I plan on making a trip to the Humane Society with Max in December. Since he loves his kitty and doggy I think this is fitting. 

There are so many great ideas on Pinterest for fun and simple gifts. Max and I are going to make Clementine wreaths for our neighbors this year and deliver them in the wagon. I'm sure he will thoroughly enjoy playing with the noisy cellophane. 

When I was little my Dad's work put on a Christmas party for the families. You know the Voortman holiday cookies.. the ones that dye your mouth red or green and sprinkle balls go flying everywhere when you bite into them!? They always had them there. Funny how you remember small details like that. I am hoping to take Max to both parties our workplaces are putting on this year.. and of course he already has festive shirts to wear to both :)

Visiting Santa Claus. I used to think putting a baby on a strange man's lap  was somewhat cruel.. I mean ... you can barely see his face!! I don't think Max is going to do well with his given his temperament. But I can't help myself. I'll say sorry to him in advance ;) At least he won't have to face it alone. My girlfriend has a baby girl who was born the day before Max. They will be visiting that weekend so we decided it would be the most entertaining thing to do together. 

I would love to hear your unique and fun traditions that are important to you from your childhood or ones you enjoy doing now as an adult! 

I leave you with Max's first encounter with snow this am :)

~ K

On my radar!

Today I am sharing some inspiration for the upcoming holiday season, along with a couple of fun things I am currently loving and dreaming of.

 

1)     I LOVE barn board. My brother and sister-in-law have a shed in their backyard full of loose pieces. Next spring they are transforming the shed into a play house.. so guess who will be coming into some B.B… that’s right. Oh the possibilities!!! I have a vision of a sign for our downstairs bathroom that names the past streets we have lived on, as well as the street names of our immediate family. I saw something similar at Winners years ago and it has stuck with me.

  

2)      I feel as though birch and barn board go hand in hand. I found these fun ornaments that involves two of my favourite things.. birch and stamps. For the past two years I have had this arrangement in my living room for the holidays and will be bringing it back in the next couple of weeks.

3)      Buttons, buttons, buttons! I am loving everything buttons right now. Currently I am working on a series of Christmas tags. Holly, snowmen, Christmas balls, trees and wreaths. They are absolutely adorable and I cannot wait to attach them to my loved one’s gifts this year :) Stay tuned for a post on this easy and adorable craft.

 

4)      Number balloons- these are so fun. I am starting to dream up Max’s first birthday party. The theme will be “How Time Flies” and it will involve lots of red and navy and airplanes. These balloons would look great beside his highchair and the entrance of the room.

5)      T.S. 1989- I like to turn my music up l.o.u.d. when I’m in the car by myself. I don’t think I have ever been drawn in by an entire CD. So far it’s 1-8 for me and the list continues to grow. She has out done herself.

6)      Birdcage umbrellas- this has made my Christmas list this year. I think these are so adorable. I envision walking down the streets of England when I think about carrying one of these. Too cute.

I hope this post has inspired you :)

~ K

Come and get it!

Don't get me wrong I enjoy junkin' out as much as the next girl, but I feel best when I end the day with a dinner for my family that is healthy and satisfying. Even before I became a mom I found it difficult working full-time and always making sure that we had a good dinner on the table at a decent time. I'm sure you can all relate! There was a period of time where I could always expect a call from my husband around 3 PM asking the dreaded question "what should we do for dinner!?" You pretty much set yourself up for disaster at that point because anything you decide to make is going to be unlikely, considering that the chicken you now want to cook is a solid brick of ice in your freezer. So I decided to make some changes for our bellies and my sanity. This is what works for me but feel free to tweak it to work for you!

I started by writing out all of the recipes that I am comfortable with making and dividing them into categories- pasta, soups, chicken dishes, beef dishes and fish recipes. I just keep this as a running word doc. on my computer.

I also have a portfolio where I keep all of my loose page recipes that I have ripped out of magazines. These are also divided into categories- desserts, appetizers, soups, entrées, breakfasts. I found the portfolio at Target in the dollar section... score!

On my Pinterest page I have everything lumped under foods except for desserts, muffins and soups. If I make a recipe we like it enough to make it again I transfer it into the folder recipes I've tried. 

Being someone who is very visual, I recently started using a menu board as well. I purchased a piece of galvanized sheet metal from the local hardwood store as well as some scrap pieces of wood. You can use erase markers on the sheet metal and it is also magnetic which is great for posting recipe cards to ahead of time. 

So here is what I do every week. I use the Flipp app on my iPhone to figure out what is on sale for that particular week and what I want to price match. I then look in my freezer to see what meats we have at that time. I check out my calendar and see what our family has going on that week as my husband typically works late a couple nights a week. On those nights I don't really plan a meal as it is just myself and Max. I will typically just make an omelette, soup or a Restaurante pizza. On the nights that we are all at home, those are the nights I meal plan for. On really busy days I typically plan for an easier meal with a short prep time or something that can be made in the crockpot

Every week I make some form of pasta dish, fish, chicken meal and other meat meal (steak, tenderloin, pork chops, ground beef). I then look to my Pinterest board as well as my portfolio to figure out what I feel like that week. Based on what I choose I then write my grocery list and I write it all down on the menu board so we know what we can look forward too :)

And there you have it! This has saved me many headaches and I like to think money too, since I have a specific grocery list with me each week and I am not just grabbing things that I didn't realize I already had in my pantry. 

Good luck with dinner!
~K

I put a spell on you!

Today I'm sharing Halloween crafts I have made this year and from past years. They are all super easy to make. The majority of my supplies come from the dollar store and Hobby Lobby. The mason lid pumpkin is my favourite. Take a bunch of lids, tie em' together with a piece of yarn and stick a few cinnamon sticks in the middle.. boom! Adorable and rustic decoration for your living space! The along came a spider printable was taken off google images.

yarn spider web

http://www.danamadeit.com/2011/10/tutorial-10-min-giant-yarn-spider-web.html

 candy corn wreath
 http://blog.lionbrand.com/2012/09/14/craft-your-own-diy-halloween-wreath/

 burlap bow tutorial
http://www.onsuttonplace.com/2012/11/how-to-make-a-perfect-bow/

 

 

 And of course.. the cutest picture of all..my pumpkin belly from last year :)

sticky felt from Hobby Lobby

Hope everyone has a spookacular weekend ;)

~K

Becoming a mom

So far, I would have to say that this year has been the best year of my life. I became a mom in January. I always thought about having a boy and a girl; one of each. I think most people secretly hope for this!? But while I wanted a boy (eventually) I had my hopes set on a baby girl for our first. Then, when the ultrasound tech pointed out my unborn baby’s genitalia in slang terms during my 19 week ultrasound, I was left thinking “holy crap it’s a boy in there!” This was not going to go over very well considering the closet in our nursery had baby girl clothes hanging in it for the last four months! My mom happened to be visiting that evening. After revealing the gender to her and having a conversation with her, she encouraged me to fold up the sweet baby girl clothes and accessories and let her take them home with her for safe keeping. I did this willingly knowing that the very next day I would be hitting up Joe Fresh and H&M for some baby boy retail therapy. As the months went by I became okay with the idea of being a mom to a boy. To be honest I was a little nervous. I'm what you would call a girly girl ;) But I never knew how really okay I would be with having a boy until the day my sweet baby Max was born. I always thought love at first sight was just a saying. I mean, I thought my hubby was pretty cute sitting in grade nine science class, but that is what I would call infatuation ;)Well let me tell you, love at first sight exists. Funny thing is I can only see myself having boys now. I think Max would have the most fun with a little brother. 

 The last nine months have been filled with love, fun and memories that will last a life time. As my husband so eloquently put in my 1^st Mother’s Day card, “life is better with him here, with us”. Many lessons have been learned as well. The most meaningful lesson being the reason for this particular post; follow your instincts. I have friends that are new moms, friends that are mommies-to-be and friends that will become moms in the coming years. I cannot encourage this enough. You will have people (some who have children and others who do not) give you advice, question your decisions or just completely pass judgement on you for the way you do things. When this happens, turn that pretend volume dial located behind your right ear counter-clockwise.

Here is a story for you. As a profession, I have worked for years as a community support worker. A couple of years ago I worked with a single, new mom who was very nervous when making decisions regarding the care of her baby girl. Me, being someone who had been in the field for a few years, and having a university degree in child development (enter sarcasm) took it upon myself to give this young lady advice. So when this woman’s baby was around three months old I explained to her that the baby was ready to be bathed in the large tub. I thought my reasoning at the time made sense, baby tubs are meant for infants, right!? Despite her extreme nervousness, I helped her bathe the baby in the large tub. Something she was not ready for. I look back on this now, especially this week, and shake my head. Why? Because Max had his first bath in our tub five nights ago. Max is 9.5 months old. He bathed in his whale tub until he was approximately six months old and then he was bathed in the inflatable Munchkin duck tub set in the large tub for the last three months for fear of him falling to the side and hitting his little head. As a result bath time for me has been stress-free and Max has been without tub incident. But I am disappointed in myself. Who was I to tell this woman what her comfort level should be. Who was I to tell her how she should be bathing her child. The point here ladies, is do what works for your baby and what is comfortable for you, even if your friends or other people in your life do things differently with their babies. Every baby is different and what works for one mama might not work for another, but at the end of the day… the kids are alright. 

To end, I want to sharing my top 10 must haves for becoming a new mom. These items have helped Max, Daddy and I survive year one (so far).

1. A stroller that you love. We have the Baby Jogger City Elite. It has been fabulous for our needs (pushing the stroller while walking a dog who pulls every which way). But it may not work for some. Regardless, I encourage you to test some out and not rush picking one out. I went to Buy Buy Baby where they literally house every stroller you have heard of to test drive / test stroll.

2. A ton of wash clothes. You will use these for everything. Feeding, spit ups, bathtime, even during diaper changes. I thought I received way to many at my showers. I quickly learned you can never have enough.

3. Indestructible books! I LOVE these books. In the early months I used them to distract Max in his highchair while I prepared his meals. He loved to mouth them and crunch them up. Now he will sit and look through them and I don't have to worry about them being destroyed if I put them in the back with him during a car ride. His favourite is Baby Faces.

4. Lansinoh Cream = Life saver. Very soothing and used daily during the first few months. Enough said.

5. Bibs with catchers. While the cloth bibs work well during the first few months of eating solids, now that Max is feeding himself these bibs will save you a a massive clean up at the end of each meal. I find the smaller ones work better right now, since he is still a little guy :)

6. Munchkin sippy cups. These are a must because they do not leak and do not have a ton of parts to fit together.

7&8. Aden and Anais Burp cloths and swaddle blankets. The burp cloths are shaped like a lima bean so they fit nicely on your shoulder without being too bulky. The swaddle blankets are very light weight and especially awesome for breastfeeding in the summer months.

9. Links! Great for hooking toys onto, teething, hooking to the car seat to ensure toys do not go flying to the ground while you are driving, and hanging from your dining room chandelier when your newborn starts to check out their surroundings :)

10. Oballs. This was the first toy/object Max grasped because of the wholes they have for his tiny hand to fit through. He also has both cars which are a lot of fun. Plus they come in lots of colours. Fun fun!

There you have it! Really, I could go on, but these were the first ten items that instantly came to my mind. Hoping that someone out there finds this helpful :)

~K