Silly Baby Recalls!

It is my personal opinion that most recalls on baby products are quite silly, and how they go about fixing the recalls is even sillier. For example, there have been a few suffocations due to drop down rails on cribs, which (from what I can tell) were all caused because the parents did not assemble the bed correctly. I personally own a drop down sided crib, and though I never really use the drop down function, it seems to be virtually impossible to suffocate or have the issues with it that are being claimed unless it was not assembled correctly. I have heard rumor that they are trying to now outlaw drop down cribs as a result of this mess. Secondly, when they do a recall they tell you to "put your child in a safe place" until you get the new parts to turn the crib into a non drop side crib. I'm sorry, but if my child has slept in this crib for two years with no issue and the previous owner for five years, why all of a sudden is my child in imminent danger waiting for the parts to arrive in the mail?? Exactly! I have a few friends that have had similar issues and they worry and put their children in a pack and play or whatever while the await the parts, but I'm thinking with all of the stuff they are going to do, in ten years all current cribs will be on the no-no recall list for one thing or another. Babies in the near future will need to go to bed with a helmet on, strapped to the bed so they can't move, and all for the cause of "saftey". Yes, I think we are taking this all to the extreme and I know it's unfortunate that some children have died from different things, but we will all die someday and we need to LIVE and stop worrying about every little detail. If you heard some of the stories my husband told about life on the farm when he was a child you would see it's a miracle that he's even alive. This is when they didn't use car seats in cars, let alone seat belts, children at age 10 drove tractors and heavy farm equipment, and bouncers were routinely placed in precarious positions on tables...he turned out fine, has a few battle wounds to show for it and some stories, but the moral of the story is that although it is fine to be cautious we shouldn't go overboard with it!

Garage Sale Breakdown

I just thought it would be a fun experiment to look up the values of my recent garage sale purchases, had I bought them new and compare them to what I paid...

PBK Giraffes (small and large) - pd $3, retails for $36
3 Hooded towels & two wash cloths - pd $3, retails for $30
Little people tractor set - pd $3, retails for $20
2 swaddle wraps - pd $2, retails for $20
Ball pit with balls - pd $3, retails for $30
Fisher price piggy bank - pd $2, retails for $17
Baby Einstein playmat - pd $5, retails for $50 (though missing 4 toys so subtract $20)
6 footie pjs - pd $6, retails for $50
2 pairs of ministar shoes - pd $2.50, retails for $26
Frog baby outfit - pd $1, retails for $17
Let it snow sign - pd 75 cents, retails for $7
Lamaze toy - pd 75 cents, retails for $7
Misc little people animals - pd $1, retails for $10
Purple bunny lovey - pd 25 cents, retails for $20
3T shirt and oshkosh adjustable pants - pd $1.50, retails for $20
TCP pink shoes - pd $2, retails for $13
Triple stacking set - pd $3, retails for $17
Hose reel cart (not pictured) - pd $5, retails for $35
Manhattan Toy Skwish (not pictured) - pd $1, retails for $15

Total spent - $45.75, total retail - $420...so total savings is: $374.25, or roughly 89% off!!

It's a Wonderful Life!

I was just thinking today how blessed I am! I have a wonderful husband who works and takes care of us, and is a joy to be around...a beautiful baby boy who is growing and learning so quickly...and a baby on the way! It is so amazing how quickly life goes. In six months I'll have a new child, and a year from now I will have as strong a bond with the new baby as I have with Seth. What a wonderful life!

My 12 week appointment was today and the baby was doing great, with a 156 heart rate. I discussed my concerns with the doctor regarding episiotomies, delayed cord clamping, etc. and was satisfied with her answers.

Milestones this week - Seth was officially weaned yesterday! He also has been taking a few steps since April 15th. He usually will walk until he realizes what he's doing and then he'll sit down. He took four or five steps today in the doctors office. I felt the new baby kick for the first time yesterday, which is a few weeks earlier then with Seth. Again today I felt the baby after meals and also when I leaned on a counter (which I remember Seth doing as well). It's really cool to have more signs of life aside from an expanding waistline and morning sickness. I also was able to stop my progesterone this week which is always a highlight as well.

On a side note, I did the first garage saleing of the year, and boy did I find some bargains! I got a Coach purse/diaper bag for $1 (the insides need to be replaced, hence the price, but the exterior was great!), a NIB johnny jump up for $5, tons of Robeez knockoff shoes for $1 or less, hooded towels for 75 cents, and a jj cole bundle me for $10. I think I officially have garage sale fever!!

Yummy scones!

I just had to share this recipe from a friend of mine..she made the most delicious scones to bring to Bible study today. It is a recipe from allrecipes that she tweaked to her tastes..and boy is it yummy!

Craisin White Chocolate Scones

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg

Directions

1) Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in craisins and white chocolate chips.
3) In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.
4) Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
5) Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

Ultrasound for the newest in the Erickson family!

Baby #3 had a strong heartbeat, we are so excited that we have a healthy baby on board!

Meal Plan for March

Sorry this is late, but with the pregnancy and being SOOO tired I have not had much time to go online. These are the meals that I'm planning for the month of March:

- Crockpot Jambalaya
- Chipotle Chicken Burrito
- Veggie Pizza
- Chicken Picnic Patties with homemade Boursin
- Antipasto Wraps
- Classic club sandwhiches
- TGI Friday's Black Bean Soup
- Marinated chicken with greek potatoes
- Big Thicket Chicken & Dumplings
- Southwest stuffed bell peppers
- Best Beef Stroganoff
- Sloppy/pizza Joes

For desserts/snacks, I'll be making:
- Shamrock toasties (to celebrate St Patty's day)
- Auntie Annies Pretzels

For Breakfast I have planned:
- Lemon Apple Braid
- Water Bagles w/homemade honey walnut cream cheese spread


Of the above I have made the lemon apple braid (I would rate 3 of 5 stars, it was a little too lemony) and the antipasto wraps (3 out of 5 stars again). The ingredients were a little weird (sun dried tomato wraps with artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, ham, lettuce, cream cheese w/basil, and salami), but I did learn that I really love roasted red peppers! I'll be trying to incorporate them into future meals. I already went shopping for the month and my grocery bill was about $60. I will try and save the receipt for next month to give an exact savings breakdown!

You know you are pregnant when...

you get a craving for an ice cream sundae with homemade hot fudge, you stop by the store to get ice cream and by the time you get home you are too tired to make it! Then, as the baby is eating and you are checking facebook you see that Byerly's is having "free food" to celebrate their grand opening. So, all of a sudden you get your second wind and truck out to Byerly's. After circling the parking lot three times and finally finding a spot you go in to see that the "samples" are barely enough to be considered "free food". Then you trek home to be in the same spot you were in an hour ago, but even more tired. Bed time!