Child labour and new blog news.

I have been dedicating a lot of time to my new blog (formatting and stuff) and it is going quite well. I really enjoy that on Wordpress I can actually watch my stats and see how many hits each day I get on my site. It is encouraging to see those numbers - even though so very few people comment. I have learned that comments are like currency in the blogging world, and you need to leave some to increase traffic back to your site (which is how I have found many of my favorite blogs - through comment sections). 

I bring this up because I have realized that on Blogger I only know who reads my site by how many comments I get; which is discouraging sometimes. 

That is partially why Drowning in Laundry will be moving here soon, So for the 6 of you who comment regularly you can update your links; and for the rest of you come and see me at Cutting Back (my second blog) and leave me a note! 

Until then I leave you with photos of how housework gets done in this house. Because I know how to train men (ok, maybe just impressionable 18 month olds)...... :) 

Moving.

pssst.... I am over here now with my second blog called: Cutting Back.

Soon Drowning in Laundry will be moving to Wordpress as well. I just find it less clunky to use. Until then I will be updating on this site and moving archives over.

Later!

What I feed my Kid when I am Stuck. For. Ideas.

I admit I am pretty lucky, Rito is a reasonable eater - but the boy gets damn picky at times. He also is not a very good meat eater, and does not appreciate all vegi's equally. I figured I would post some no fail recipes that I make when he is either being picky or what Dad! and I are eating for dinner is entirely inappropriate for a tiny digestive system. 

Mac and Cheese with hidden Vegi's

3/4 cup elbow macaroni - cooked

1 tablespoon butter 

1 to 2 ounces milk 

1/4 to 1/2 cup Velveeta cheese (depending on how you like it) - melted

1/2 cup pureed steamed butternut squash

Mix it all together. It freezes really well too, so you can have it on hand for those days you don't want to cook.

Cheesy Tomato Pasta Stars with extra Vegi's

1 28oz can of tomatoes with the juice 

1 cup of carrots 

1 tablespoon butter 

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese 

1/2 to 3/4 cup pasta cooked (small pasta like stars and alphabet noodles are really easy for the kids to eat when they are little, Rito likes this on elbow macaroni now)

Melt butter in pan, add tomatoes and carrots to pan and cook at medium temperature until carrots are soft. Puree mixture and return the puree to the pan. Add the grated cheese and melt. At this point you can freeze portions of the sauces or you can freeze the sauces plus the cooked pasta. Your choice.

Baby Meatloaf

This stays really moist, so the babes can chew it easy. Rito is not the best meat eater but he likes these quite a bit, in fact I should be making him another batch! 

1lb lean ground beef

1 box stovetop stuffing (we like the cornbread one here)

Moisten the stuffing according to package directions. Add the raw ground beef  and mix very well. Portion into muffin tins for cooking at 350degrees for about 20 minutes (may take up to 35 minutes depending how you portion them out). This recipe also gives you a ton of room to add softened or pureed vegi's to it, we like adding roasted red peppers or carrots and onions. 

AppleSauce Muffins

These make a nice snack for your kid, and if you make the bite size small muffin tin size ones the adults love the "one bite" muffin effect. 

1 cup butter, softened
2 cup sugar (1 white & 1 brown)
2 eggs
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups flour
2 cups applesauce 

Mix all ingredients together and fill greased muffin tins or paper baking cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Batter can be stored in refrigerator and used as needed. Freezes well too. Makes 2 dozen.  NOTE: I usually make 1/4 of this recipe and it makes about 18 bite size baby muffins (those tiny muffin tins). 

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with a protein boost.

Make a regular grilled cheese sandwich, but instead of buttering the outer sides of the bread, drench it in whipped up egg (like french toast). It fires up easy and your kid will never know you are sneaking a shot of protein.

Creamy Cheese Sauce with Chicken and Broccoli

This one can be pureed as needed depending on age. 

2/3 Cup edam cheese grated

1 cup milk 

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp butter

1/2 cup broccoli steamed

1/4 cup chicken cooked and minced/diced/pureed to needed texture

Melt butter in a pan, add flour. Add milk and wait to thicken into a creamy sauce. Add cheese to melt. Finally add the broccoli and chicken. If needed chop or puree to a finer consistency. Freezes great and can be added to small pasta (alphabets or stars) to make a hearty meal. 

Sick. Stress. And way too many brackets to count.

I decided to wait on the laser eye surgery, mostly for financial reasons. But, barring a pregnancy it will be getting done this year (go figure you can't do laser eye surgery when pregnant - and having kids is my reason to want to fix my eyes). Maybe I will do it next month, I just need a bit of time to put the extra 1000$ together. 

I had been waiting on a car repair that I have been DREADING the bill for (to do with the ABS system) and after taking it to a "friend" mechanic who said it could cost 1700$ or more to fix (for a new ABS module or 800$ for a rebuild), I decided to seek out a second opinion (after Dad! and I did some research online and Dad! encouraged me to take it to a shop that really knew their import cars). Today I got a call from the fantastic guys at the repair shop #2 with the good news that they suspect the problem is a simple $80 part. NICE. That totally made up for some of my shitty day. Getting a second opinion is always a good thing. The GreenMachine should be home tomorrow for hopefully a reasonable repair price.

Last night after Rito went to bed I had the freezing cold shakes so bad I was in tears, crying, shivering on the couch (in three piece polar fleece pajamas and a blanket). This morning I woke up (with Rito at 7am) with a fever, raging headache, shortness of breath and every bone and muscle in my body hurting. After consulting Dr. Google I decided that it sounded like I had the flu and that some rest may be a good plan. So now Dad! is watching Rito and I am lying in the spare room watching A Baby Story and playing on the laptop (I had a HOT shower and snoozed earlier and feel somewhat better but the headache still persists and I can't take another Tylenol for another hour).  I think I will feel much better tomorrow once I shake the majority of this "Flu" off. Rito goes for a nap soon, and I think I will feel much better by dinner. 

I just want to go enjoy my little boy, I miss him even when I am in the same house. Right now I can hear him running around the kitchen giggling - and it makes me smile.

A Week from Now ....

A week from now I could have almost perfect or near perfect vision. 

I know it sounds so very lame (and vain) but I have been considering laser eye surgery for some time now. I detest wearing glasses, and Rito tends to grab at them making them all smudged PLUS he has already broken an old "back up pair" of glasses. I have purchased many pairs and have never found a frame that I can stand wearing and looking at for more then a day or two at a time. They drive me nuts and I feel so gross and greasy when I wear them. Now, I normally do wear contacts which I sleep in (it is OK - really) and I have never had a problem with them. The problem with contacts is that I can't wear them forever and in a few years I will need bifocals - which I am so NOT cool with (and contacts when you need bifocals are a pain in the ass). The laser surgery will almost guarantee that I will never need bifocals but may need a light prescription pair of reading glasses. To me this beats the shit out of bifocals.

I have done a lot of reading on the surgery and recently I have had a consultation for the procedure. As well I have called 4 previous patients of the clinic where I had the consultation and they are all happy with the outcomes of the procedure (one guy needed "tweaking" in one eye but is very pleased now) and I talked with two people at the clinic who were there for follow up appointments (one day after the procedure and three months after) and they were both very pleased. The only thing holding me back is the cost. Almost $3000.00 for the most expensive and "safer" option or as low as $2200.00 for the cheap version. The price was a bit more then expected but only an extra $1000.00 overall. Our benefit plans do cover a chunk of the surgery fee (actually over the course of time it will pay the while thing off) but the initial outlay of cash is a little stressful. Doo-able but stressful. I hate spending large chunks of$$$ all at once. For me, being a stay at home and working part time Mom, a $1000 is a lot of money to spend on such a thing (even though I will get that money back in less than a month). And face it I spend at least 800$ a year on contacts and glasses alone, so the surgery will more then pay for itself over time as well.

I guess I could just quit shopping until spring and that would more then cover the extra cost. 

Realistically I will go for the better more expensive and safer technology in the end; because why take chances with my eyes you know? I feel like I should do it sooner then later though, because the surgery can not be done while pregnant and since we are throwing all birth control caution to the wind in this house - pregnancy may not be far off. Seriously, two kids and glasses would suck. 

Screw it - after this rambling rant I realized that it is OK to do this for myself. It is about tiem I do some renovations on SleepyNita. 'Tis is a New Year right?