Nausea and Vomiting

A lot of times on Mommy Diaries we focus on post-birth mothering. But since I've looked like the above woman (minus the cute hair and clean bathroom) for the last 4 weeks I'm desperately seeking advice on pregnancy and sickness. I'm grateful the new (at least new since my last child) term is "nausea and vomiting" instead of "morning sickness" because as most of us know it isn't limited to the morning. In fact, the morning is when I feel my best and it gets progressively worse throughout the day.

Here are a few things I've tried so I wouldn't throw up twice a day:

• They say to eat every 2 hours (I upped mine to every 1 1/2 hours)
• Ginger (I tried Organic Ginger Snaps that look like little mints...they are good to distract your brain if you are about to throw up. I've also tried Ginger Snap cookies and Ginger Ale. I also have some "legal" ginger tea I should try but the thought alone makes me queasy)
• Ice pops
• Sea bands (did NOT work)
• Dramamine (again did NOT work)
• B6 vitamin (25mg) coupled with Unisom
• And lastly, I got a prescription for the generic of Zofran (the drug they give to chemo patients) but it has yet to work.

I'm hydrated enough but I am pretty worthless when it comes to mothering my other two children and caring for our home...which comes with it an unbelievable amount of guilt. What do you do to combat the nausea and vomiting in pregnancy?

**And if you are one of the lucky ones who doesn't experience this please leave a comment so we know there's hope out there!**

Baptism Help!

I'm sorry that I haven't posted in forever my excuse is I had a baby (with complications) and therefor put off most of my responsibilities... well, that's my excuse at least.

So here's my problem:

October is a very busy month in our home, not only do I have to come up with costumes (this year she wants to be Hermione Granger and he wants to be a Ninja, and they want the 2 year old and baby to be pumpkins) but I also have two birthdays to plan--20th and 22nd-- PLUS this year I have my daughter's baptism.

*screams in terror and hides in closet*

I used to be Primary President and helped people through this process and now I feel as if someone has asked me to plan a wedding... solo.

I have no clue where to start. NONE. Do I have to give people food? Do I have to ask people to talk? If I have to ask people to talk, then how many people?

Has anyone done this before or seen it done? I'm absolutely beside myself here and am therefore procrastinating to the umpteenth degree.

I would love some advice... some tricks of the trade.


Thanks

Charity

Baby Gas

So, I'm sure that we've probably visited this topic before, but now that I have a 3-week-old it's pretty much all that is on my mind these days. My little girl is so sweet and is relatively easy to get to sleep, but then after about 5 minutes of being asleep she just starts with really loud sharp cries that pretty much break my heart (and have severely rearranged my sleep schedule). It seems like her stomach is just really upset and keeps waking her up. I'm nursing her and have cut a lot of things out of my diet, but haven't seemed to found anything that has worked very well. Does anyone have any suggestions on great burping techniques or gas cures that will help my baby feel better and hopefully help our family get a little more shut-eye?

September's Craft

Better late than never, right? Our family has been going through some major changes, so sorry for the delay. I don't know how it is at your house, but here in OH, the leaves are starting to change, and the nights are very cool and crisp. I LOVE fall, it is my favorite time of year (besides Christmas, and Summer.... ) I just love the awesome colors, the cool air, the decorations, and the nostalgic feeling of it all. I even like watching college football with my hubby!

Anyways, so, what better than to have a fall craft? I saw these pumpkins and knew I just HAD to have some on my mantel. So, since I haven't gotten around to it, I'm sending you the tutorial from where I stole the idea! :) It's fun another DIY craft blog. So, go HERE and make some TODAY!!

Enjoy!!

Carseat Question!

I have a question about the car seat situation! My baby is now 9 months and at his appointment he was 19.15lbs so just about 20! I know the rule, or law I guess, for the sit up seat is 1 year and 20 lbs (right?) Well is it really that bad if they are over 20 lbs but slightly under 1? I guess the reasoning behind the age is developmental...maybe? Does anyone know?
Anyway a lot of people I know put their babies in them before they are one, either they are too big or just hate the car seat and they are happier sitting up so they just put them in early! My baby is fine in the car seat so I don't mind waiting till he is one, but then I realized we are driving to Utah in October and I was thinking for a long drive like that it would be SOOO much better to have him sitting up and facing forward! I'm tempted to just get one and just use it on the trip!
I guess my question is just, is it really that bad to transition to the bigger seat a little early? Is it going to make a huge difference to wait a month or 2 longer!? Does anyone know the reason I'm supposed to wait till 20lbs AND 1 year?
Also, does anyone have any good suggestions for a good, not to expensive, sit up seat? Oh and one more, sorry they just keep coming! A lot of them are convertible, which I don't really see the point of because I already have the baby one, and I will probably have a kid in the sit up one and a booster one at the same time anyways. So is there a benefit to a convertible one or is it better to just have one infant seat, one sit up seat, and one booster??

TV Night

Hey there Mommies! Are you all having a good September so far? Enjoying the start of school?
One thing I know a lot of us are looking forward to this month are all the fun Fall TV shows that are about to start back up. So our About Us question this month is: What are some of your favorite TV shows? Are there shows you can't stand to miss an episode of? Do you have one family favorite or a show for every night of the week? Are there any new ones you're looking forward to this year? Let's hear about your favorites!

I'm an airhead!!

So sometimes I am a little slow!!! I get an email that says..... Andrea it's your turn for tricks of the trade!!! IF you have any questions let us know! ........ so my brain wiggs out and tells my fingers to hit the respond button..... uh yah I have questions.... what is tricks of the trade???? Well, to clear everything up.... I totally knew what the tricks of the trade post was..... my brain just wasn't processing!!! Sorry Girlies! I really am a competent woman!
Ok so now to my post! My hubby and I are trying to save save save money in all ways!!! Who isn't right?! So we canceled our t.v. subscription and I get this bright idea to take up the new task of couponing!!!!!! Has anyone else gotten into this?? There is a deal in our area that you can get the newspaper every day of the week except Monday and then 5 papers on Sunday so that you get all the coupons!!! And you get the papers for only 40 cents a paper!!!! Well..... this Sunday was my first Sunday being an official couponer (Is that even a word!! hahaha it's late!) and I LOVE IT!!!!! But as I am new I would love some advice! So.... without further waiting..... Tell me all the secrets that you have found to couponing! Your binder, the stores, the deals you have gotten!!! I am craving all the info I can get so I can be Great at this!!!!

Stranger Danger

My daughter is 4 and starts preschool on Tuesday. I haven't discussed stranger danger with her before now, but feel that with her starting school its time. How did you mothers go about it, how did you warn her without making her terrified of leaving your side? I'm all about passwords, have you done a password with your 4 year old child and actually not have them tell others? Any advice please!!!

Grilled Salmon with Veggies

So I almost feel like this is cheating for the weekly ingredient, but it does have cilantro in it, so here goes. By the way, we LOVE cilantro at our house! We use it in a lot of things, but this is what we had tonight, so I was thinking about it when I saw the ingredient of the week.

I buy frozen salmon at Costco or Sam's Club and they come prepackaged in serving sizes. I just defrost the meat, then put it on a piece of tin foil. We add whatever veggies we happen to have in the fridge, but tonight's was especially yummy, so here's what was in it:

Salmon
One chopped zucchini
One lime (squeezed over the salmon before cooking)
One diced tomato
Cilantro, diced up small
One small chopped onion (whichever kind you like)
A few cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Just defrost the salmon (if you get frozen like me), put it all together in the tin foil and roast it on the barbecue for a few minutes on each side. It's really tasty! Even my husband will eat this, and he's not real big on fish.

I paired it with mashed potatoes and asparagus, but it is also good with rice and broccoli or your favorite veggie.

Meal time madness

There are about a million things that I could ask other moms about to get advice but there has been one thing lately that is driving me nuts and as I look around I find that its a really common problem. Mealtimes. My five year old thinks that he is entitled to eat what he wants and when he wants. I will slave over a big well balanced home-cooked meal and he will turn up his nose and say "No thanks, I think I'll just have some cereal." Sometimes I feel like I make four different meals at each mealtime to suit the tastes of each member of the household. Hubby wants eggs for breakfast. Jack hates eggs and wants toast. Abe throws the toast and eggs on the floor and begs for a banana. I know that I need to just get strict and let the kids go hungry or eat whats for dinner but most of the time its far easier to just bust out the goldfish crackers or chicken nuggets. Food storage really gets me going. I can barely get my husband and boys to eat fresh gourmet masterpieces, let alone canned meals or reconstituted dry milk. I have a year supply of food but honestly, its just so that I can check the obedience box and hope for the best during the apocalypse. I have a million fabulous recipies for wheat and chicken chunks, but no one will actually eat them but me. Do you guys have any good strategies to get the family all eat the same meal? With all of the special orders I feel like we are operating a restaurant. (My husband is the worst one, by the way) Maybe I should just give in and buy a year supply of rice krispies and go-gurts.

A Pioneer Woman Dinner

I'm not going to pretend that I'm not one of Pioneer Woman's die hard fans. How I can love reading stories about a stranger's life on a cattle farm is beyond me...but I do! And aside from her humor and photography I LOVE her recipes. I've yet to try a recipe from her that I don't like. She's recently added a potato recipe that is so DELICIOUS even my Idaho-raised husband loves it. Tonight we had Steak Bites with a side of Potato Bundles. I wish I were more original and could post something of my own but it's that good so I couldn't help but share. Looking for a great meal this week? Try it- you won't regret it!

Click here for her Potato Bundles recipe.

Click here for her Steak Bites recipe.

P.S Since we're on the topic of potatoes PW's Mashed Potatoes are great too!

nothing new....

.....but still delicious! My favorite way to do potatoes is roasting them with the lipton onion soup mix. I love it this way, I especially love using the leftovers as hashbrowns the next morning!

Oh, one other thing I like to do with potatoes is to do "baked" potatoes in my crockpot. I wash them off, pile them in the crockpot, sprinkle with a little salt (it helps the skins get a little crunchy) and cook them on low until they are nice and soft. This is a great way to have baked potatoes in summer, you don't heat up your whole house! I make a whole bunch and then I can use them in other stuff for a few days, once again, they make awesome hashbrowns the next morning!! Just dice them up, put them in a fry pan with a little olive oil, or butter, and salt. Then let them get brown and crispy! This is the only way my three year old will eat potatoes, and it is SO SO easy!!

Naptime?

Calling all you experienced Moms! My daughter is about 2 1/2 now, and up until the last couple months she was on a nap schedule for the most part, napping every day unless we had something special going on that day during naptime. Well, now she refuses to stay in bed, wants to play, doesn't fall asleep no matter what I try....unless she's in the car.

Do any of you have any tricks for naptime? If you can't keep your kids in bed, what about quiet time? We've tried it some, but again, it's hard to keep her motivated to stay in her room for quiet time.

Let me know if you have any good ideas...I'm all out!

Taqueria Tacos

This is my favorite Mexican food recipe. We don't make it very often as flank steak can be pricey, but it makes a ton and they are so delicious, like really good restaurant carne asada tacos. The marinade is like magic. I have used cheaper meat, and while it still tastes great, it is a little tough and just not the same. Try it, you'll love it. The pico is fabulous on it and I don't like tomatoes or onions, but I love it! Also, you can just warm the tortillas, but they tend to be dry and crack. If I'm going to the expense of making these, I go all out and enjoy every last fat gram. Make with homemade refried beans for a true Mexican touch.

3 pounds flank steak

Corn tortillas

Marinade:

1/3 cup vinegar

½ cup soy sauce

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 limes, juiced

½ cup olive oil

1 tsp each of salt, black pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, dried oregano, ground cumin, and paprika

1. Marinade meat by pouring mixed marinade over steak in a large glass dish. Turn to coat both sides. Cover with plastic wrap and sit in refrigerator 1-8 hours.

2. Make the pico topping by combining the following:

1 white onion, chopped

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 limes, juiced

1 tomato, chopped

3. Fry corn tortillas in hot oil, drain and set aside.

4. Cook meat by heating 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cut steak in thin strips. Cook in oil while stirring until meat is cooked through but not tough. Cook in batches as to not overcrowd in pan. Keep cooked meat warm by covering it.

5. Serve meat on tortillas with grated cheese and the pico salsa.

Serves 10

Homemade Salsa

I LOVE homemade salsa. It's pretty good canned as well, but nothing beats fresh salsa and tortilla chips. Mmm... my mouth is salivating right now. Seriously, this is the best.

So there isn't really an amount to anything here, just make as much as you want. But when I make it, I make alot. So I'll give you what I usually do.

6-7 tomatoes
3/4 green pepper, chopped
1 lime, squeezed
1 chopped jalepeno (remember the seeds inside are what is really hot, so don't just chop the whole thing and put it in unless you like it REALLY hot... I'm telling you this from experience. Although, that batch did last a long time, because we couldn't put very much on each chip!)
1/2 onion, chopped
cilantro - optional
salt
garlic powder

I cut the tomatoes first, and see how much I have, then add a small amount of everything and keep adding what I want until it tastes just right. But those amounts are generally what I end up using. Sorry, this is kind of generic but it gives you the opportunity to make your best salsa, just how you like it!