Here are some pics of Allison a few days ago.
Enjoy the afternoon.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Not Much Happening
I am still working on getting some pictures of the garden and other things I have planted around the house. I have also gone and bought all the Easter basket things but am not taking pictures of that because my sister and MIL both read this...HI GUYS...I want the baskets to be a surprise. Allison is sleeping, second nap today and I am just chillin' while Scott plays video games. It is nice, just wish I was in my jammies, but it's only 3:30 in the afternoon. I don't have to much more to say, I am making Tuscan Chicken Simmer with pasta and salad or broccoli.
Here are some pics of Allison a few days ago.
Enjoy the afternoon.
Here are some pics of Allison a few days ago.
Enjoy the afternoon.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Still Chomping Away
Precious Allison has started to get her second tooth. It just cut the surface this morning and she is miserable. I try everything to get her to calm down, but everything makes her cry. Her rattle falls, she cries. She skoots out of her chair to the floor, she cries. Her spaghetti noodle is on her chin, she cries. She sits up by herself, she cries. It is a little comical because there is really no reason for her to cry under normal circumstances.
I finally got her down for a nap, which probably won't last much longer but a little rest is better than none.
Early this morning, like 4 am, Allison started crying so I brought her back to bed with us so we could get some more sleep before the alarm went off. Let me tell you, sleeping between Scott and Allison is so noisy. I am the only one in the bunch that didn't fall back to sleep. On one side I have a nine month old sucking her thumb right in my face and on the other side I have Scott practically snoring. I went back to bed after Scott left and slept until 8 am, Allison slept until 8:30. I watched her for a while and she smiles in her sleep. She must be dreaming about something good...hehe.
Scott just walked through the door, home early, yeah!!! We are going for a walk, he doesn't know it yet, but we are.
I have alot to say about this weekend because we were so busy but family first.
Enjoy the day.
I finally got her down for a nap, which probably won't last much longer but a little rest is better than none.
Early this morning, like 4 am, Allison started crying so I brought her back to bed with us so we could get some more sleep before the alarm went off. Let me tell you, sleeping between Scott and Allison is so noisy. I am the only one in the bunch that didn't fall back to sleep. On one side I have a nine month old sucking her thumb right in my face and on the other side I have Scott practically snoring. I went back to bed after Scott left and slept until 8 am, Allison slept until 8:30. I watched her for a while and she smiles in her sleep. She must be dreaming about something good...hehe.
Scott just walked through the door, home early, yeah!!! We are going for a walk, he doesn't know it yet, but we are.
I have alot to say about this weekend because we were so busy but family first.
Enjoy the day.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Groceries on a Budget
I have been trying all morning to get a grocery list together and have it come out to around $40 for a weeks worth of food. We are cutting back on some spending and this is one way for me to try and help. We buy a lot of unnecessary stuff at the store and I am trying to weed those things out and prepare healthy meals on $40. I didn't relize it was so hard. I usually just go to the store and spend whatever I want, when it really comes down to it I spend alot. I have decided I am not giving up my new love, coffee, with caffine. I really don't know how I did it before, with out the coffee I mean, and Scott isn't giving up his cocktail hour so those are some things I will stock up on when they are in sale.
I have broken the week down like this:
Monday - Mexican
Tuesday - Italian
Wednesday - Skillet Meal
Thursday - Casserole Night
Friday - Homemade Fast Food
Saturday - New Recipe Night or Leftovers
Sunday - Crockpot Meal
Now I am trying to come up with economical meals that fit for each night and trying to buy the ingredients on sale in the weekly ads. So far I have added the sale items up and I am over by $20, but that is by Raley's ad, and they are one of the more exensive stores (Safeway is the most expensive so I don't even look at their ad).
I have created the list for the weeks meals, it looks like this.
Taco with Rice & bean salad
Ravioli with bagette & salad
Chicken skillet meal with broccoli
Lasagne with salad
Turkey burgers with Tots and grapes
Tuscan chicken, noodles and salad
crockpot chicken, potaotes, carrots & onions
Allison eats what we are having ground up or one of the jarred 3rd foods and cottage cheese for dinner.
Now I am making a list based on the meals and ads and what I have on hand and NOT shopping at Raley's, I am taking the list to Grocery Outlet. I have a coupon for them, $5 off $50 purchase, easy, I can spend that much. My usual store is Winco but I want to try a store closer to me and see how much I can really save when I am trying. This week is a test run. (NOTE: I have not given up eating clean...ok I have a little...I am just watching what I eat, with a family it is difficult to keep myself on track and we don't have the budget to buy different groceries for everyone)
Next week when I go shopping I am clipping coupons and shopping at a discount store or the 99 cent store or both depending on what we need.
If this little experiment works then conrgratulations to me and all the money I am going to save. I hope I have given you some ideas on saving money.
Enjoy the day!!
I have broken the week down like this:
Monday - Mexican
Tuesday - Italian
Wednesday - Skillet Meal
Thursday - Casserole Night
Friday - Homemade Fast Food
Saturday - New Recipe Night or Leftovers
Sunday - Crockpot Meal
Now I am trying to come up with economical meals that fit for each night and trying to buy the ingredients on sale in the weekly ads. So far I have added the sale items up and I am over by $20, but that is by Raley's ad, and they are one of the more exensive stores (Safeway is the most expensive so I don't even look at their ad).
I have created the list for the weeks meals, it looks like this.
Taco with Rice & bean salad
Ravioli with bagette & salad
Chicken skillet meal with broccoli
Lasagne with salad
Turkey burgers with Tots and grapes
Tuscan chicken, noodles and salad
crockpot chicken, potaotes, carrots & onions
Allison eats what we are having ground up or one of the jarred 3rd foods and cottage cheese for dinner.
Now I am making a list based on the meals and ads and what I have on hand and NOT shopping at Raley's, I am taking the list to Grocery Outlet. I have a coupon for them, $5 off $50 purchase, easy, I can spend that much. My usual store is Winco but I want to try a store closer to me and see how much I can really save when I am trying. This week is a test run. (NOTE: I have not given up eating clean...ok I have a little...I am just watching what I eat, with a family it is difficult to keep myself on track and we don't have the budget to buy different groceries for everyone)
Next week when I go shopping I am clipping coupons and shopping at a discount store or the 99 cent store or both depending on what we need.
If this little experiment works then conrgratulations to me and all the money I am going to save. I hope I have given you some ideas on saving money.
Enjoy the day!!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Walking Before Crawling, A Dangerous Milestone???
At a recent party my MIL was bragging about Allison and how she has skipped crawling in favor of walking. Everyone had their opinion about it, but the majority said that she would have speech problems and vision impairments and have a difficult time reading & writing…even a professor at the university agrees…Oh my!!
Being the over protective mother I am, I had to discuss it with my husband., no one is going to talk about our baby like that, she’s a genius. She babbles and laughs and rolls in her crib until she is stuck in a corner then cries so we can save her from the evil corner. She pulls her self up and can stand on her own while sucking her thumb. How could that be a bad thing???
So I decided to do a little research myself. First place I checked was the web because you know the web is always right. I found an article about the doctor who’s theory matches that of the “university crowd”. Glenn Doman (a physical therapist) founded the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (IAHP), a non-profit organization providing teaching programs and books designed to improve and accelerate the mental and physical development of normal as well as brain-damaged children in 1955.(ok 1955, just a little old) He has also written a few books on development of babies the last one in 1988, then co wrote another book with his daughter Janet in 2006.
I continued reading the article and have to say that I am still a bit skeptical, you can accelerate the mental and physical development of any child just by playing, reading, singing, taking them outside and having mommy around (IMO). Crawling is not something that can forever alter the way the child will or will not develop mentally or physically.
The article goes on to express their opinions on the subject and in his words “the objective of his “gentle revolution” is “to give all parents the knowledge required to make highly intelligent, extremely capable, and delightful children, and, by so doing, to make a highly humane, sane and decent world.”
Right there…you see this… making a highly humane, sane and decent world. WOW!! No wonder the people at the party listened to this guy, he fits in with there ultra liberal thinking, not to mention that most of these people were probably having children back in the 70’s and 80’s when his theories were new.
We are now some twenty, thirty years later and I needed some more recent info on this theory.
I dug up some current info that might make it more clear, on the web of course. It is a few (15) pages on the Motor & physical development of locomotion, from NYU. It gave me some insight . What I took away from the excerpt was that crawling, like walking is a locomotion skill and "walking is the most recognized of infants’ locomotor achievements, but it is not infants’ final locomotor milestone."
Here is an excerpt from the site that I think sums it up pretty well
“The development of locomotion is one of infants’ greatest
achievements. It is accomplished little by little as infants
learn to cope with gravity, the constraints of their growing
bodies, and variations in the terrain.
Initially unique solutions in crawling and walking (and the myriad other
forms that infants invent to move themselves from place
to place) tend to converge on common patterns of interlimb
coordination. But, common patterns of movements
do not imply rigidity in the face of adversity. Infants take
each encounter with everyday obstacles as an opportunity
to employ a boundless repertoire of exploratory procedures,
to discover new ways of modifying ongoing movements,
and to construct alternative solutions when the
current method of locomotion is impossible.
Thus, the development of locomotion reflects important
changes across many domains of development –
physical growth and biomechanics, as well as perceptual
learning and cognitive development. For infants, carrying
objects involves developmental changes in the biomechanics
of balance. Navigation through a cluttered environment
involves perceptual exploration in the service of
prospective control. Finding a new sliding position to
descend a steep slope and using a handrail as a tool to
augment balance are dramatic examples of means-ends
problem solving.
Moreover, the development of locomotion facilitates
change across many domains of development. The ability
to go somewhere, to move and retrieve objects, and to
leave caregivers behind creates new sources of information
about the self in relation to places, surfaces, objects,
and other people. Independent mobility has system-wide
effects on psychological development. Indeed, as Campos
and colleagues remind us, travel broadens the mind.”
So whether your child walks before crawling or vise versa, I found there is no concrete evidence that would suggest that your child will have any developmental disabilities if they decide they like walking around and exploring rather than crawling. Babies are going to do what they want when they are ready and no one can stop them...he he.
(I am not a doctor or a professional and these are just my opinions I have made through research)
Being the over protective mother I am, I had to discuss it with my husband., no one is going to talk about our baby like that, she’s a genius. She babbles and laughs and rolls in her crib until she is stuck in a corner then cries so we can save her from the evil corner. She pulls her self up and can stand on her own while sucking her thumb. How could that be a bad thing???
So I decided to do a little research myself. First place I checked was the web because you know the web is always right. I found an article about the doctor who’s theory matches that of the “university crowd”. Glenn Doman (a physical therapist) founded the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (IAHP), a non-profit organization providing teaching programs and books designed to improve and accelerate the mental and physical development of normal as well as brain-damaged children in 1955.(ok 1955, just a little old) He has also written a few books on development of babies the last one in 1988, then co wrote another book with his daughter Janet in 2006.
I continued reading the article and have to say that I am still a bit skeptical, you can accelerate the mental and physical development of any child just by playing, reading, singing, taking them outside and having mommy around (IMO). Crawling is not something that can forever alter the way the child will or will not develop mentally or physically.
The article goes on to express their opinions on the subject and in his words “the objective of his “gentle revolution” is “to give all parents the knowledge required to make highly intelligent, extremely capable, and delightful children, and, by so doing, to make a highly humane, sane and decent world.”
Right there…you see this… making a highly humane, sane and decent world. WOW!! No wonder the people at the party listened to this guy, he fits in with there ultra liberal thinking, not to mention that most of these people were probably having children back in the 70’s and 80’s when his theories were new.
We are now some twenty, thirty years later and I needed some more recent info on this theory.
I dug up some current info that might make it more clear, on the web of course. It is a few (15) pages on the Motor & physical development of locomotion, from NYU. It gave me some insight . What I took away from the excerpt was that crawling, like walking is a locomotion skill and "walking is the most recognized of infants’ locomotor achievements, but it is not infants’ final locomotor milestone."
Here is an excerpt from the site that I think sums it up pretty well
“The development of locomotion is one of infants’ greatest
achievements. It is accomplished little by little as infants
learn to cope with gravity, the constraints of their growing
bodies, and variations in the terrain.
Initially unique solutions in crawling and walking (and the myriad other
forms that infants invent to move themselves from place
to place) tend to converge on common patterns of interlimb
coordination. But, common patterns of movements
do not imply rigidity in the face of adversity. Infants take
each encounter with everyday obstacles as an opportunity
to employ a boundless repertoire of exploratory procedures,
to discover new ways of modifying ongoing movements,
and to construct alternative solutions when the
current method of locomotion is impossible.
Thus, the development of locomotion reflects important
changes across many domains of development –
physical growth and biomechanics, as well as perceptual
learning and cognitive development. For infants, carrying
objects involves developmental changes in the biomechanics
of balance. Navigation through a cluttered environment
involves perceptual exploration in the service of
prospective control. Finding a new sliding position to
descend a steep slope and using a handrail as a tool to
augment balance are dramatic examples of means-ends
problem solving.
Moreover, the development of locomotion facilitates
change across many domains of development. The ability
to go somewhere, to move and retrieve objects, and to
leave caregivers behind creates new sources of information
about the self in relation to places, surfaces, objects,
and other people. Independent mobility has system-wide
effects on psychological development. Indeed, as Campos
and colleagues remind us, travel broadens the mind.”
So whether your child walks before crawling or vise versa, I found there is no concrete evidence that would suggest that your child will have any developmental disabilities if they decide they like walking around and exploring rather than crawling. Babies are going to do what they want when they are ready and no one can stop them...he he.
(I am not a doctor or a professional and these are just my opinions I have made through research)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Pooped Out
Well today I am just pooped. Allison & I worked out in the garden most of the day and I did all my regularly scheduled housework and laundry. When Scott got home I made him trim some trees in the back to make room for more sunlight. I haven't worked out there since last year when I was pregnant. It was nice, I got inspired and planned what we are planting. So far I am planting:
tomatoes beefsteak, cherry, roma (of course, can't wait to make fresh salsa and tomato sandwiches)
tomatillos (never planted before but thought they would go with the tomatoes)
jalapenos (for the salsa)
green beans (love them roasted with olive oil & sea salt)
beets (never planted these either but they sounded good)
kale (never planted or eaten this but wanted to try it)
sugar snap peas (love in stir fry)
cantaloupe (love it for breakfast and I want Allison to try it)
zucchini & summer squash (a must have for any garden, saute with garlic & olive oil and you have a great side dish)
We are going to plant some fruits too. I chose strawberries and a dwarf lemon tree. I want to do raspberries but haven't figured out where to put it, maybe next year.
And flowers are going in there too some where. Marigolds, zinnias & azaleas, some sunflowers and I want jasmine or honey suckle too.
I love California weather, you can grow practically anything !!
In other news, I actually slept all night last night, well almost, I did get up once to check on Allison, but I must have been really tired cause the alarm woke me at 5:30. I freaked a little, thinking she rolled over and wasn't breathing, she was fine, but she can lift her head now so I try to relax a bit after all she is a big girl now. But mommy can worry, he he.
I am off to make some tea and relax now I hope all of you had a great day.
One last thing, my store is almost complete, I will let you all know when it's done. You might actually find something you want and I might have free shipping for said item if you mention you heard about the store on my blog...I will post more on that later.
Here is a couple of baby pics to make you smile & brighten your evening.
.JPG)
tomatoes beefsteak, cherry, roma (of course, can't wait to make fresh salsa and tomato sandwiches)
tomatillos (never planted before but thought they would go with the tomatoes)
jalapenos (for the salsa)
green beans (love them roasted with olive oil & sea salt)
beets (never planted these either but they sounded good)
kale (never planted or eaten this but wanted to try it)
sugar snap peas (love in stir fry)
cantaloupe (love it for breakfast and I want Allison to try it)
zucchini & summer squash (a must have for any garden, saute with garlic & olive oil and you have a great side dish)
We are going to plant some fruits too. I chose strawberries and a dwarf lemon tree. I want to do raspberries but haven't figured out where to put it, maybe next year.
And flowers are going in there too some where. Marigolds, zinnias & azaleas, some sunflowers and I want jasmine or honey suckle too.
I love California weather, you can grow practically anything !!
In other news, I actually slept all night last night, well almost, I did get up once to check on Allison, but I must have been really tired cause the alarm woke me at 5:30. I freaked a little, thinking she rolled over and wasn't breathing, she was fine, but she can lift her head now so I try to relax a bit after all she is a big girl now. But mommy can worry, he he.
I am off to make some tea and relax now I hope all of you had a great day.
One last thing, my store is almost complete, I will let you all know when it's done. You might actually find something you want and I might have free shipping for said item if you mention you heard about the store on my blog...I will post more on that later.
Here is a couple of baby pics to make you smile & brighten your evening.
.JPG)
Monday, March 23, 2009
Beautiful Sleep
She is finally sleeping. Nap time around here is non existent, so when I finally get her down for a nap it is a wonderful 20 mins of quite. This weekend we lowered her crib and just in time. I put her down for a nap yesterday and she cried as usual, I checked on her and she had somehow sat up in her crib, BY HERSELF!!! I couldn't believe it. She rolls over all the time and I let her sleep on her tummy some of the time, but sitting up?? Next thing you know she will be standing up in the middle of the night trying to escape the confines of the crib and decide to go exploring around the house.
She has also decided to skip the crawling and go right into standing and wobbling around from table to dad. Another amazing thing she did yesterday was stand by herself for about 10 seconds while sucking her thumb. She just stood there, butt sticking out to balance the weight of her head, then flopped down on her tush. It was totally cute. She defiantly is growing up quickly. In four months she will be a year old, then she will want to borrow the car...go off to college...get married and have kids. I am cherishing every precious minute with her because they go so very fast, if I blink I will miss everything.
I hope you all had a great weekend.
Enjoy the day.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Where's Spring
We woke up this morning to sunshine and now it's cloudy & windy. What a drag, I wanted to go on a walk or a picnic or hike, something out in the warm sunshine. I was all ready to buy garden plants and work out there on Sunday. Oh well, we are all still lazing around in our jammies and it is soooo nice. Allison is napping and I have a pretty good caffine buzz going on, I think I will start planning my Easter menu and work on the baskets. Can't wait for Easter, my parents, sister and her boyfriend are coming up and Scott's mom is coming over so we will have a full house. I am already planning a meatball bar (meatballs stay heated in the crockpot, served with 2 different sauces and all kinds of toppings), antipasto, salad, veggie frittata, garlic bread, bruschetta and crostini. Think it will be enough? For dessert I am making apricot bars and I thought about making bishops bread.
I will be hiding some plastic eggs for Allison to find with the help of everyone. I just hope that the weather will be nice so I can set up the buffet outside so we can enjoy the sunshine and eachothers company and watch Allison play. Hopefully I will have the flowers planted and the garden cleaned up by then. Well I am off the check on the munchkin and to continue looking for more ideas for Easter.
Here are some pictures from yesterday, she had spaghetti for dinner last night and eating a freezy pop out on the patio (she really does take after her dad).
Enjoy the day.
I will be hiding some plastic eggs for Allison to find with the help of everyone. I just hope that the weather will be nice so I can set up the buffet outside so we can enjoy the sunshine and eachothers company and watch Allison play. Hopefully I will have the flowers planted and the garden cleaned up by then. Well I am off the check on the munchkin and to continue looking for more ideas for Easter.
Here are some pictures from yesterday, she had spaghetti for dinner last night and eating a freezy pop out on the patio (she really does take after her dad).
Enjoy the day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)