My Time

As a mother you learn to appreciate the small things in life. My living room currently looks like a tornado went through it and I am right in the middle of it all. My son isn't satisfied until every toy he possesses is covering the floor. I have a pile of laundry that needs to be hung up, another pile that needs to be washed, dishes that need to be put away, and a dinner to prepare for tonight. But as my son takes his afternoon nap, I am basking in the silence and enjoying having to do nothing, even if it is just for a short time.

My Time

Oh how seldom we meet and how nice it is to see you once in awhile. I can finally get back to writing here, edit pictures, play Words With Friends if I want to. Even when I do get some down time and get to do what I want, I still find myself anxious for my son to awake (crazy how that works). I love playing with him, I love trying to teach him new things, I love hearing him put together new words every single day, I love this little person he his becoming. To know that I am playing a role in that? Well I just think that is the most awesome thing ever, and I wouldn't want my time to go anywhere else.

Fellow moms, what do you do when you get a few minutes to yourself? Are you crazy like me and can't wait to get back to the chaos of motherhood? I'd love to hear from you!

Crockpot Bread I Said!

My favorite season is finally upon us after a brutal summer here in Chicago. The leaves are changing color, cool weather surrounds us, my wardrobe now consists of sweatshirts, I get to spend time in the kitchen making our favorite fall foods and experimenting with new ones. I adore this season.

Today I wanted to make bread. Not only is the aroma of bread baking highly intoxicating, but nothing beats slicing into fresh bread you made yourself. Enjoying it with butter melting into each nook and cranny on a blustery cool day. I didn't want to do the standard way of making bread where you have to wait hours, let it rise, knead it, wait longer, rise, knead it, then finally get around to baking it. I looked around on Pinterest, found a few recipes then combined what I found to be the best of them all to make my own version.

I decided on an Artisan bread. Super simple. 

• 6 Cups Flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
•  3 1/3 Cup Cool Water
• 2 1/2 Teaspoons Of Salt

All of the dry ingredients go into a bowl

Add the water and do some mixing

Should be wet and sticky, I then covered it with plastic and let it sit for an hour

Looked over and my son is being SO big! Sorry how can I not be sidetracked with this guy? Back to the bread.

I then oiled up the bottom and sides of my Crockpot

 

 I put the dough in, put the lid on and set it on the high setting

I let it go in there for 3 hours. I noticed the top wasn't browning so after the three hours I took it out and put in in the oven for 45 minutes on 375 degrees.

After 45 minutes we have a wonderful, crispy, bread!

As I tested it out, I realized I would have to share my first piece. After all, how could I say no to this face?

Babywearing Mama

Before having my son babywearing was something completely foreign to me, never had I really noticed women wearing their children. Then when I was registering at Target I saw the carriers that they had in the aisle but didn't like what they had to offer. They just did not look comfortable or supportive enough to have my child be in. An old coworker sent me a congratulatory email after I had my son and then asked me if I had interest in wearing him. The floodgates opened and from the second she told me of different carriers with proper positioning, I was hooked. I have two favorite carriers, one that is great for the infant and the other that I still use for my almost one year old.

My first wrap was a Moby wrap. If you are expecting, buy one. It is fantastic for the newborn days. I was able to be hands free and actually accomplish things around the house while keeping my son close. After all, who wants to put their baby down in those early days? I even took my Moby wrap with to his first trip to Walt Disney World  when he was 3 months old and I am so glad that I did.

 

This one was taken in mid unwrap. Being all snuggled up and close to me he would often fall asleep being worn.

Loving being by his mama!

The pros to this carrier are many:

• Skin to skin with baby
• Great support for you baby
• Distributes weight evenly so there isn't any strain on your back
• Folds up compactly so it's easy to travel with 
• You can nurse discretely while the child is in the wrap 
• You are able to do a front carry and a hip carry

Cons:

• It is a lot of fabric you are wrapping with. Once you are used to it, it can be done very quickly but if you aren't already wearing it when you arrive at your destination it can be a little awkward to try and get it on without it touching the ground or having it not get wet in inclement weather.
• Only good up to 15lbs (it says it can hold more weight but for ME when my son reached 15lbs I needed something different) 

My next carrier was a Babyhawk Mei Tai

I adore this carrier. Seriously, I cannot say enough good things about it. It is a little pricey but oh so worth it! You can even customize your order by choosing the color of your straps, your fabric, if you want it reversible, a pouch, or a pacifier holder. I'm sure there are more options but those are the ones that stood out to me. My son is currently 10 months old and weighing in at 20lbs and I wear him everywhere.

Back carry

 

 

Pros:

• Excellent support for baby
• Distributes weight evenly so there is no strain on your back
• You can carry your child in a front carry or a back carry
• You can nurse in this carrier
• Folds up well so it is easy to travel with
• Holds up to 35lbs (I tried this with my 4 year old nephew, put him on my back in the carrier and while I wouldn't carry him for long distances having him in there was DEFINITELY doable and comfortable for a shorter outing)

Cons:

• There is some tying involved (personally I do not mind this one bit, it's not overwhelming and is quite easy once you are used to it but for some I could see it being a con. They do offer a snap carrier if tying isn't your thing)

 

If you have never worn your child, try it. If you know someone who is thinking about it, encourage it. The skin to skin, the moments where my son falls asleep on my chest after being out and about, the way he nuzzles into me when he sees something he is unsure of, are all memories I will keep close to my heart. I'm so happy I've made the decision to wear him and I hope you can give it a try too!