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!

More Babies in Bunnyland!

Shifting Gears

Hi, everyone. I decided to reclaim this blog...meaning I will not be dedicating this blog just to Seth updates (though I will give updates on him at times), but I will be posting my thoughts and ideas that I have found helpful in my life...that I sincerely hope will help you!

This year we decided to really get back on track with our budget. When I crunched the numbers I was surprised at how meager our income really was in relation to expenses. That means big changes ahead! I figured out that we had $200 per month to live on, that includes gas, food and everything else. Since Luke has a large commute and I go to various playdates throughout the week I figured that half of that was gone right away in gas money. So...how to live off of $100, that is a great question! At the time I was working out these figures we were spending about $75 per week just on groceries...and I really don't want to live off of credit cards. Starting in January (so this is the end of month two), this is really what has helped me stay within the $100 guideline for living expenses:

1) We rarely, if ever go out to eat. We have gone out a few times, but that was only when someone else was paying (which we try not to take advantage of), using gift cards, or using BOGO coupons and stretching it over at least 2-4 meals. I found that some people are willing to exchange gift cards for services. Case in point - I did my mom's taxes for her and she gave me a $50 gift card to a local restaurant. She would have paid $100+ to have a professional do it, or she could have done them herself but she saved herself time and money by letting me do this. I was a financial advisor/loan officer, before being a SAHM so it wasn't like I was totally unqualified to do this.

2) I coupon - like crazy! To start off, I buy an Entertainment book every year, and then I go on craigslist and coupon swap. What this means, is I get the maximum amount out of the book. I usually only use 15 or so restaurants and when I do the coupon swapping, that means I have 10-15 coupons per restaurant! This is really helpful for if we ever end up treating people when we go out to eat (Luke and I would share a meal, and buy the other person the free one) as well as just saving money. If we were to eat normally, we might spend $10 on an entree, but if you have a BOGO coupon, you save half the money and are able to stretch it over a few meals if you only eat half a meal at a time (eat half now, get half to go for a later meal). This means you can get $20 worth of food, and still be at $5 per meal. Secondly, I also coupon when grocery shopping. I now shop, almost exclusively at Rainbow due to their doubling policy. On Wednesdays (and some Saturdays) they will double up to 5 coupons, up to $1 each if you spend at least $25. Also, you can find many things for free using this method - perfect example was last week, Wheat Thins were on sale for $1.99 and I had a $1 off coupon. This doubled and it became free!

3) I primarily cook from home, and I meal plan once per month. I was always envious of those "practically perfect" housewives that had a meal plan. I thought - wow, they are so organized - I wish I could do that! What I didn't realize was how much time and money you save when you do meal plan. It takes me about half an hour, once per month, and saves me three or more trips to the grocery store, as well as LOADS of money. January I spend $65 the entire month on groceries, and this month it is about $85 (and I'm including some non grocery items in the total, such as cleaning products and paper products!) Plus, the flexibility of shopping once per month is great since I can cook any one of the meals that I chose (12 per month) depending on my mood for the day...and I always know that I have everything on hand! No more having a craving for something and having to eat a frozen pizza or having to run to the store for that missing item!

4) Take advantage of freezer space! I don't mean that you have to go out and buy a deep freezer (as I honestly think most of the food would go bad, or be reduced quality if you bought in that much bulk), but it is really handy to freeze things for later use. A loaf of bread will keep, almost perfectly fresh, for a week or more in the freezer. Cheese will keep several months, and meats will also keep for several months. So, when Rainbow has a sale on beef or chicken for $1.99 per lb, I stock up, and then freeze them in 1 pound increments. That way, if I know I'll be making something that calls for hamburger, I can just take out the amount I need the night before or the morning of and it will be ready to go by supper. Also, if you chop up fruit (such as bananas) and veggies (like bell peppers), you can freeze them in baggies and just grab and cook and not worry about spoilage and wasting.

5) Control shopping/spending habits. If you don't go to the store, you tend not to spend money. I know that is not a surprising concept, but for a recovering shopaholic, it is an epiphany! I now keep a small stash of coupons (you know the 20-30% off coupons that drag you into the store and get you to buy lots of things?) in my purse. I do not, however, use the coupons to justify a trip to the shop (except for the rare occasion that I find a Kohl's 30% off coupon). I keep them on hand, for emergencies only. What would be an emergency? An unexpected birthday invitation, running out of an item that you use frequently (for example, I scrapbook and an absolute necessity is tape, without it, I can't do anything!), or something of that nature. The goal, however, is to go in, and go out, only buying what was on your list. The Kohl's coupon I use to buy clothes (which is especially nice when you find an item on 70% off clearance, then can take an additional 30% off, they are practically giving it to you!) or gifts. If you are lucky you can use the coupon on a Kohl's cash weekend and that really is like free money! Since they only give these out once or twice per year to charge card holders, I don't find myself going there frequently enough to get myself into trouble.

6) Tithe. I know this may sound weird to those that are not accustomed to tithing (and if you are not a Christian, this tip will not help you), but it really does work! On more than one occasion we have tithed not knowing where money would come from for a necessity..and then God shows up and provides it! He has always been faithful in this, and as my friend Leslie said "we can't afford NOT to tithe!" God grants us our daily bread, or our needs for the day, even if we feel we are just getting by. Other times he blesses us abundantly! On another note, pray that God would grant you favor in your finances. That does not mean begging Him to make you a millionaire, but just seeking Him for help with controlling your budget. This is not a prayer I have often prayed, but God has surprised me the times I have. I prayed for my in-laws recently because it appeared they would have a major, unexpected, expense and I prayed that God would show them favor. A week later we get a call that my mother-in-law got a $4 raise! That is in a small town where that sort of thing never happens! Praise God! I also prayed this over my husband, and his workplace, and this week he was given a promotion and raise! So, now when we were concerned that we'd be struggling to live off of $100 for food and necessities, we now have over $200 for that. So, thanks be to God for His provision!

Well, I do have more tips, but will have to save those for later as it's time to feed Seth lunch and go about my daily business. I hope some of this helped you!

Recent picts

Happy New Year!

Hi, to all my faithful blog readers who did not abandon the blog due to inactivity. Hopefully this post will be a pleasant surprise! Well, Seth just turned 10 months and is growing like a weed. He is now pulling up on everything, and crawling around. One of his favorite things to do is to open and close doors repeatedly as well as take all of the toys and books off of the shelves. I'm trying to teach him to put them back on, but to no avail...I did have him "help" me clean his room before bed today and it made me feel really good. I'm starting a better routine with him now - up at 7am, nap at 10-12 (or 1), then another attempt at a nap at 2ish (though I haven't been successful the past few days) and down to bed at 6:30. This gives me an hour to clean, cook, facebook, etc before the hubby comes home. I hope you are all having a great new year!

Life in the Baby Lane

In the past month I've made it a point to go to as many baby play dates and activites as possible. This helps fill the gap that a few of my friends left when they skipped town, and it also gives Seth the opportunity to try many new things and spend time with other kids. It's beautiful to see how well he acts when there are other babies in the house. He was cuddling with his new friend Kaleb yesterday, and if you remember from before, he was holding hands at his first playdate ever. I think he's just an affectionate boy, I'm so in love with him!

Seth is Learning to Walk!

Seth Learning How to Walk from Luke Erickson on Vimeo.

"Going Green" or the "Accidental Hippy"

The more I thought about my role as a mom, and my response to the previous comment on the garage sale post, was that I am a "green" mom. I am everything a hippy mom is like, but it was not totally intentional. Not that it's a bad thing, I'm totally into being responsible and respectful of our planet. It's just that I'm also not the stereotypical "green" person, who must buy organic everything, wear hemp, and try to become a vegan...you know what I mean. Anyway, the ways that I'm a green mom are:
1) Cloth diapering - yes, this is better on the environment, and I'm likely saving 2 tons of diapers from the landfills, but the diapers themselves are amazing. I do the bumgenius 3.0s and I (rarely) supplement with disposables. I just find that the cloth diapers contain the "explosions" really well, and though they are more work, in the long run I'm sure it's the same as I only have to wash the diapers instead of a million outfits that have leaks on them (not to mention his sheets, my clothes, etc. that are around the leaks). They are also cheaper then disposables, and a heck of a lot cuter.
2) We recycle - this is a no brainer with my mom working for the environmental mgmt of our county...though it's such a simple act, I'm rather shocked when I visit peoples homes that don't recycle. I mean, it's not much effort throwing a can/bottle/paper into a bin that is right next to the trash bin and it is good knowing that we aren't contributing to the detriment of our planet
3) I garage sale/buy craigslist - I've always been commented upon that I have champagne tastes with a poor mans budget - well this is how I get the best of both worlds! I find what I want, then buy it used...a lot of times it's in mint condition and for pennies on the dollar. Plus, there is great satisfaction knowing that if I ever wanted to "change it up" I can always sell the stuff and usually I will break even. Also, if something gets wrecked, I don't have that "sick to my stomach, I paid a thousand dollars for that!" feeling.
4) I breastfeed - it is definitely not the most fun thing in the world...being the only one my child can come to for nutrients (he's allergic to formula). However, I know it is healthier for him, and I think parents need to be self-sacrificing for their kids. Just one thing that we can do to make their lives better and healthier.

I Love Garage Sales!

I just love garage saleing! There is nothing like the thrill of paying next to nothing for nice things. $100 spent at a garage sale is like $1000 spent at regular stores. So, though I have said countless times "I'm done garage saleing for the year", I'm so glad that I didn't give it up! Yesterday, on a whim, I asked Amber if she wanted to do a little saleing as the weather was beautiful (though a bit hot). We passed by a few sales that didn't look like they had much to offer, but at the last two we struck gold! I found a puppet theater for $5 that was still new in the package, I looked it up online and the seller had originally paid $110! After that sale, I found the rest of the little people sets I was looking for (Noah's Ark and the Castle), so now I'm set! I would have to say this beautiful theater is exactly what I was looking for and for me is the ultimate garage sale find of 2009.

Seth's First Play Date

I joined a group of stay at home mom's via meetup.com. Today was the first official "play date" and it was really fun seeing all the kids interact. At one point, a little 9 mo. old boy named Henry came up to Seth and smiled. Seth smiled back and when Henry reached out his arm so did Sethy. They held hands briefly and we were able to get a few pictures, though Seth started getting mesmerized by the camera as soon as it was taken out.

More pictures!

Seth found his hands this week, he's so cute! He's still kicking away a lot, I have a feeling if I had him on his tummy more he'd be crawling by now, but I'm not ready for that! He's growing too quickly! He is really a sweet baby, and I'm happy he has his daddy's temperament. Luke came home last night and wanted to play the baby a song before bed on the guitar, unbeknown to him Seth would go CRAZY over it. His eyes got really huge and then he started dancing wildly. It took an hour for him to calm down and go to sleep...cute, but I told Luke he can only play guitar for him in the morning from now on!

Cuter by the minute

I'm sure every mother has the "oh, my gosh, he's sooo stinkin' cute!" moments. I had several today. For the first time, he waved "bye bye" to his grandma. My mom has been teaching him to wave every time she leaves and today he mimiced her motion and tried to even wiggle his fingers. CUTE! Luke had him in the baby bjorn for the first time and it was so cute to see father and son together. Now, if I could get Luke to wear it for nine months, he may have some more sympathy for my pregnancy.... ;) He was great, though. Can't believe my baby has grown so much, one of these days I'll be sitting front row to his wedding...*sob* My baby!!

3 month update

It is hard to believe that Seth is already 12 weeks old! He has grown so much, and it's been fun getting to know his personality. He has the "super baby" smile now, which I love. Yesterday I took him to get his pictures done at Kiddie Kandids and at JCPenny Portraits. They turned out really cute. Seth has now added "hello" and "kitty" to his vocabulary. I can also tell he has pretty good comprehension because I will ask him "Seth, where is the kitty?" and he will look around and when he sees it (painted on the wall), he gets a big smile. This morning he actually cooed "kitty" (more like "ki - e"). Super cute.

Seth's Visit to the Doctor

Poor little Sethy was really fussy this past week. He was clawing at his face (self mutilating), and had tons of tiny bloody streaks everywhere from his little nails. His cheeks were red and bumpy and he had extremely dry skin. He also had puss in his left ear and it had a foul odor. After looking online I saw this indicated an ear infection, though it's rare for a baby this young to get it. So, I took him in and after some poking and prodding from the doctor (and some blood curdling screams from Seth), he said Seth did indeed have an ear infection. He also said that baby had eczema and told me to put hydrocortisone and lotion on it twice a day (which is why he was itching his face). So, after giving him his antibiotic and rubbing him down with lotions this morning I notice a drastic difference. His eyes aren't as swollen, there is less puss in his ear, and his cheeks are almost baby soft again! Praise the Lord! I guess it is true that baby's this young don't cry for no reason, we just though he was being feisty - turns out he was in pain. Poor baby!