Time Out Tuesday #3

I will admit that Time Out Tuesday is my only "regular" posting right now, but I am getting better! Getting back into blogging after baby is a bit like getting back to exercising after baby. You mean to do it today (and tomorrow and the next day) but you find something else to do today, tomorrow, and the next day. But of course I always manage to share pictures of my little guy!

This past weekend W met his Uncle Kyle for the first time.

He also attended his first wedding. Believe it or not, he was not the youngest guest -- there was a three week old and another six week old! He slept/ate through the ceremony and slept through a good bit of the reception, music and all. He looked even cuter than he did on Easter I didn't know that was possible ;).

Five Ingredient Roast

Last week I made a great five ingredient roast from the blog, A Year of Slow Cooking which was recommended by my friend IRL Emily who frequently uses her crockpot for all sorts of recipes.

The recipe calls for five ingredients, all of which I had at home since we have a deep freezer full of meat. My husband has farmers in the family so we pretty much purchase one year's worth of red meat in February.

Ingredients:

3 pounds beef roast (mine started frozen)

1/3 cup molasses 

1/3 cup dijon mustard (I used honey dijon since that is what I had)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar (I used 3T)

Instructions:

Toss everything into the slow cooker (the best part of using this cooking method in my mind). Turn the roast over a few times so there is some sauce/seasoning on both sides. 

Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

I cooked ours for about 7 hours and we got six or so servings out of it. Let me know if you try this or have another good suggestion -- love the tips!!

It's So Very Cheri, Not Baaad Sundays,  Sundae Scoop

Time Out Tuesday #2

On Saturday this smile absolutely made me cry. Sure W has made "milk drunk" smiles while nursing and smiles related to bodily functions, but this one was during playtime and in response to what else...funny noises I, as his mommy, was making. I haven't captured his smile again, but this one photo could hold me over for awhile :) I consider it an [early] Happy Mother's Day/Happy Birthday smile.

This is my family and it is perfect for me. The baby definitely has his Dad's blue eyes, but I'm not sure you can tell here. This was at our Mother's Day dinner (who wants to fight the brunch crowds??). When I came down from feeding W on Mother's Day there was a beautiful framed 8x10 photo in our entry way of my husband and I kissing W after a bath, a photo that my mom took during her first visit to meet the baby a few weeks ago. When I went into the kitchen there was another photo, one of me and baby taken when he was 11 days old. These are the types of gifts that make me cry. I also got some birthday gifts from my in-laws since today is my birthday!

And just to show how much he has grown in 6 weeks, here he is propped up to a semi-sitting position that I'm sure wasn't too comfortable for him, but posed for the sake of a picture, in the family cradle (more on that here).

Right now he is napping, a great birthday gift since I had time to take a nice long shower, start giving myself a pedicure, have hot(!) coffee and read a few sections of Sleep is for the Weak, a funny book on motherhood that a friend gave me.

Take some time to enjoy your little ones today!!

Instant Nursing Cover

Since baby W was born nearly six weeks ago, this is literally the first creative project I have done (except pose him for pictures). It isn't that I don't have any time, but when asked if I use his naptime as "mom time" or to sleep, my answer is the latter. Oh and I have been getting some housework done, hand-me-down clothes put away, etc.

We are starting to leave the house for longer periods of time and I am breastfeeding our little guy and supplementing with formula because he wasn't gaining weight as quickly as the doctor had hoped. So, I spent a quick 5 minutes LITERALLY and made something I had the supplies for, but never got around too -- a strap to make any blanket an instant nursing cover!

They sell nursing covers like these:

Photo from Growing Your Baby

for anywhere from $22.50 to more than $50! As someone who knows how to sew, this is ridiculous to me, so I was off to create my own!

Actually, all I wanted/needed was a strap to go around my neck. This way the strap can be attached to any blanket I have with me. I purchased two items: suspender clips and one yard of ribbon. I chose navy grosgrain because it is neutral and the grosgrain seems a little stronger than the silky ribbon.

All I did was insert the first end of ribbon through the loop on the suspender clip and folded it so it would stay.

 Once my hot glue gun was warmed up, I applied a line of glue close to the clip and then covered it with the ribbon. I did this three times so it would be glued on good. I folded the end of the ribbon under so it would look "pressed" and glued again.

I got a blanket from the nursery and attached the first end to approximate how long I wanted the neck strap to be. Once I measured, I did the same thing with the other end and wa-la -- DONE! When I used it for the first time yesterday, it was too long so I wasn't covered as much as I hoped (it was 22 inches) so then I trimmed it to 18 inches this morning and it works great.



Keeping it Simple, DIY Showoff, Get Your Craft On

Time Out Tuesday #1

To share more pictures of our little guy as he grows and does cute new things (like grabbing at his toys), I am going to start Time Out Tuesday. I will take a few minutes each Tuesday to share my favorite recent photo (or two) and any notes about W.

Yesterday was his one month appointment and he already weighs 9 pounds 11 ounces -- no wonder my arm gets sore! The doctor said that developmentally, he is at a 2-2.5 month stage which of course makes me proud :). He has moved up in weight to the 50th percentile but is still in the 25th percentile for length.

Happy Easter!

Look Mom, I grabbed it myself and am holding on!

Versatile Blogger Award

I have been given the Versatile Blogger award! Pretty impressive since I have been MIA for 4 weeks. Let's just say it came from a good friend with kids of her own so I thank her for that :) 

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.
Stevie, mother of Moore Babies has been my friend since a few days into college at Clemson. I was her bridesmaid, she was my matron of honor, she became a mom (twice) I became a mom (once), and she now has a blog where she writes about fun activities she does with and for her daughters. Too bad for me she lives all the way in Florida which is not close to Maryland!!

2. Tell seven things about yourself.

 1. I am currently on maternity leave with my son. He is wonderful and amazing and all of those things new moms think about their children. There are select photos of him here and here (he had a little jaundice after birth).

  2. My husband and I donated the home we purchased to the Smithsonian and it is going to be in the new museum of African American History. No, I am not kidding. Our name is going to be on a plaque and everything :).

  3. I like gardening...flowers and vegetables, but this year everything is slightly on the back burner due to the new baby. I know my husband wishes I'd be more into the gardening this year, but it is tough. Last year we had some beautiful flowers and delicious vegetables.

  4. I'm not a big fan of driving at night.

  5. This past winter I hit a deer (at night), but since my driver's door was damaged, I had to climb over the center console of my Pontiac G5 with a long puffer jacket on 6 months pregnant to survey the damage. That was a sight to be seen on the side of the road!

  6. I love my Kindle! It was a Christmas gift from my husband after I was a sore loser in a holiday raffle and didn't win one at a holiday party. It i great, especially with the baby since I can read one handed.
  7. I cherish my friends...there are a few that have been with me through all sorts of times and they mean the world to me. I hope they know who they are!

  3. Pay it forward and award the Versatile Blogger to 15 bloggers. I am selfishly cutting this back to five (awful I know...) because I awarded a handful of bloggers the stylish blogger award before and W is up from his nap and I want to finally finish this post!...

Go check out these fabulous blogs!!
 1. Hanna @ Bouffe e Bambini
2. Emily @ Choose Joy
3. Abbi @ Dear Abbi
4. Lyndsy @ lgriffis
5. Billie @ The Unexpected Mother


4. Contact your everyone and let them know they've been awarded!