Category Archives: works for me wednesday

Weight Loss Wednesday and a recipe with photos (ippp)

Posted on December 1, 2011 | 5 comments

I am trying to better balance motherhood and working full-time outside the home. My hubby carries so much of the load, with being the first one home from work and just being his wonderful self, that I wanted to figure out how to help. Enter my crockpot. I have been scouring for recipes that will work for the family and my weight watchers diet.

Recently I did a crockpot recipe search on pinterest and found this website. And decided to try this recipe for Sue’s birthday dinner.

Here is the ingredient list I came up with:

1 jar reduced fat pasta sauce
8 ozs. italian style shredded cheese mix
1 pound lasagna noodles
3 cups fat free cottage cheese
1 lb cooked, 93% lean ground beef
1 can mushrooms stems and pieces

Brown meet with spices in a frying pan, drain fat, stir in pasta sauce, simmer for a few minutes (don’t rinse or throw away pasta sauce jar).

Put some meat mixture on the bottom of your crockpot, then a layer of noodles (they will have to be broken up to fit in), then a layer of cottage cheese, mushrooms, and a layer of cheese, repeat. The original recipe calls for adding fun veggies, broccoli, spinach, etc., but I forgot or didn’t have them on hand.

taken with my phone camera 🙂

Cook in crockpot for 4.5-5 hours on high. About 30 minutes before it is done, cook up a few extra noodles on the stove, layer those on top of lasagna at the end of cooking to tie it all together.

It makes a lot. About 8 servings, and comes out to 10-11 weight watchers points plus per serving.

I liked it, hubby liked it (has been taking the leftovers to work) and the babies even liked it! It is higher in points values than I normally eat for dinner, but I budgeted through the day so I could have some for my sweet girls’ birthday dinner.

They are, after all, why I am working so hard on my health; my weight, my exercise and my cholesterol. I want them to grow up knowing good choices are a natural part of life. That exercise is something to plan, look forward to and enjoy. I am looking forward to those results for myself, but as I watch my girls, I get drive to continue when I might quit otherwise.

But, I am going to take a bit of Alicia’s advice, and remember, the laundry, dirty dishes, messy rooms, will always be there, so I will take the time I need right now to exercise and make wise eating choices.

*Weight watchers update, I lost another 1.2 lbs, for a 3 week total of 4.8 lbs.

Check out other tips

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Posted in blog hops, photos, weight loss, works for me wednesday

iPPP and Works for Me Wednesday with a bottom twist

Posted on November 9, 2011 | 4 comments

Over the last few weeks I have been working on a project. Kind of a big one…rehabing 15 of my pocket style cloth diapers. I was blessed enough to have a friend give me her stash of cloth diapers to use with Patrice. I have added a few items, but it kept nagging at me that there were a lot more of them that I was not using because the elastic was stretched out and they tended to leak.

I follow a lot of cloth diaperers on twitter, so I started asking questions about rehabing them. One person clued me in that Cotton Babies, the makers of Bumgenius, sell a refreshing kit that includes new elastic, pre-cut, and new aplix (velcro), also pre-cut, for $1 a packet and they don’t charge shipping!!!!

Another mama friend sent me a Youtube link for a video of someone fixing their diapers. I watched it many times.

Finally, I started ripping out the stitches to get at where I needed to put in the new elastic. It was torture. I didn’t have a clue where to start. I got so frustrated. I broke a seam ripper. I called a seamstress friend to see if I could hire her to do it. Chickened out from asking her. Kept at it. Picked a different diaper to try…Bingo!

Got one opened up. Then to sew. That part only took 10 minutes. And I had a wonderfully snug fitting diaper.

Over the last few weeks I have continued to rip out stitches. Friday night I got all of them opened up. Saturday I actually got a couple sewn.

Here is how it went down:

Turn diaper inside out. Look closely at your diaper to see if there is a spot where the elastic is exposed. Those are the easiest ones to work with.

See the loope of elastic sticking out?

You rip out a few stitches at each end of the wasteband elastic. Maybe an inch or two at each end.

Then rip out an inch or two of stitching at each end of the leg gussets. When all is said and done, you will have exposed elastic at 6 places in the diaper.

Snip off old elastic where you started exposing it. Then sew the new elastic on to the diaper where the old is showing or started. Pin the unsewn end of the new elastic to the cut end of the old. Go to the opposite end of that gusset, pull on the old. It will pull the new in and through. Make sure it goes in flat and doesn’t twist.

Cut old elastic off, sew new elastic on. Repeat on other side. Sew seams shut. Try not to sew the elastic as that will reduce it’s stretchiness.

Next, turn diaper right side out. Rip stitched out of old elastic side tabs. Sew one of each of the sides of elastic to it’s “partner”. Just sew the rounded part, leave the bottom open so you can sandwhich the diaper itself. Finish sewing the tab onto the diaper. Sew the square laundry tabs over the old ones. The new ones are bigger and the old ones are SOOOO sewn on, just covering them is your best bet.

Look at your beautifully rehabed diaper!

See Patrice sporting her rehabed diaper? You should see the proud mama!!!
*this picture was taken with my phone 🙂

Check out other posts here and here.

4 Comments

Posted in blog hops, photos, sewing, works for me wednesday

Here’s Guessing

Posted on February 16, 2011 | 4 comments

My sweet baby Patrice seems to be struggling a little bit the last couple days. She is a bit fussier than normal, which is to say, she is actually fussy. She is typically a very happy, content baby. Yesterday daycare reported she was hard to console all morning. Tonight she is also grumpy. Turns out daycare had another tough day with my sweet-ums. My guess is teeth. I don’t see any but she is nursing different. She is clamping down more and kind of grinding her mouth. Just seems she is looking for something to be more comfortable. It is not a lot of fun for her or mama. I feel so bad for her. She is normally so happy. It makes me wonder how much discomfort she is really in. I am guessing a fair amount.

If she is going to do this like her sisters, we will be seemingly on a non-stop teeth spree soon. My girls wait a little while to get them but once they start, they come one right after another. Ahhhhh….I must admit, I am dreading it a little bit. I am dreading the fussiness, the diaper rashes and the interrupted sleep.

I also dread teaching her not to bite me while nursing. But while it is something I will have to teach her, it is not impossible. She will learn. And likely learn pretty quickly. My older two did. My brilliant midwife taught me the trick before even the first attempt. Don’t pull baby away, even though that is reflex, it just adds pain. Rather, push baby toward me so her little nose gets tapped. It makes her open her mouth in a little gasp and stops any clamping down of that little jaw.

It works like a charm. And it works for me this Wednesday.

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Posted in blog hops, Patrice, works for me wednesday

Shopped Mercy–Loved What I Got!

Posted on February 9, 2011 | 1 comment

I made my first purchase from the Mercy Shop and I LOVE what I found. So does Patrice. And our family doctor. And I think you might too!

It says mmm.breastfed.mom

And that works for me!

Wordlessly…or close to it.

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Posted in blog hops, breastfeeding, wordless wednesdays, works for me wednesday

Hopelessly in Love on Works for Me Wednesday

Posted on February 2, 2011 | 3 comments

I am hopelessly in Love with this hubby of mine and daddy of theirs. Nothing touches my heart more than to see him displaying his deep love for his girls. Today he showed that by spending extra time outside playing with them.

He is hopelessly in love with his girls and that works for me on this snowy Wednesday.

Works for Me Wednesday has a fun Valentine’s Day theme this week. Hop on over and enjoy!

This also worked for Things I Love Thursday.

3 Comments

Posted in blog hops, winter, works for me wednesday

Multitude Mondays #46 Blogging Community

Posted on January 25, 2011 | 1 comment

Here we are at another Monday and my heart is searching for those things for which I am thankful. It’s not that I have any shortage of things to be thanking the Lord. On the contrary, He has been abundantly good in the ease and struggles of life. Rather, I am looking for variety, but I find in this season of life I am dwelling on just a few things. I am dwelling on survival and protection. My survival as I deal with postpartum depression and protecting my children from my ups and downs. I want them to thrive, not survive. I want them to be blessed throughout this experience and I want them to know they are loved. I will walk through whatever I must for them.
But the Lord has not left me in this journey alone. I have my amazing husband, my wonderful midwife, my family, friends and the blogging community. For a time I withdrew from much socialization, including the electronic world. Life was just too heavy; I am slowly coming out of that. And in my baby steps, I have found the amazing support of the blogging and twitter community. I am often led to blog posts that encourage me at just the moment I need them. Today was one such day. Through someone’s retweet on twitter I found this post. I was drawn to it because it is about my life verse, Psalm 68:19–How glorious is our Lord who daily bears our burdens and has become our salvation. And today I needed it.

I had 6 good days in a row and was ready to declare victory over the depression, but it snuck up and got me again. And within moments I found that post. It was just what I needed. The author and I started chatting on twitter and she sent me a link to this post. It expressed much that I have not yet put into words. I appreciate her writing and insights very much.

Now let me veer a little bit from my train of thought to mention, my depression manifest differently than some. I do not struggle to function, rather I struggle with slowing down. I find I must be busy all the time. I cannot bear to have time on my hands. This works well for a household with three small children. **I only mention this in case there are other people like me who are dealing with depression but find they are overly energetic. That can still be a sign of depression and can be challenging.

Back to my regularly scheduled train of thought…

Other bloggers have blessed me immensely as I walk in the woods and the meadows of depression. I cannot begin to mention them all but I do want to talk about two ladies, Ali at An Ordinary Mom and Kristen at We are THAT Family. I just love both of these blogs. An Ordinary Mom hosts a weekly snapshot post on Saturdays. I am having a lot of fun looking for times to take pictures of my lovely girls. It is fun now and I know will be a treasure when they are grown. We are THAT family has blessed me with the Mercy House Kenya ministry. I have worked on a couple things for them which have nicely filled my need to be busy. *Remember, I will soon be asking you to help and get involved by donating supplies for this ministry. I also enjoy Kristen’s Works for Me Wednesday blog hop. It gives me an outlet of thought that does not involve the depression and for that I am very thankful.

I am also thankful for this blog hop I have been doing on Mondays, Multitude Monday at A Holy Experience.

I invite to go to Ann’s post and those of so many others who are choosing, as I am, to be thankful. Won’t you join us?

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Posted in blog hops, blogging, depression, mercy house kenya, multitude mondays, Postpartum Depression, works for me wednesday

Making baby wipes Works For Me Wednesday

Posted on January 12, 2011 | 2 comments

I did the math one day when Caitlyn was a baby and each baby wipe I used, even when I bought them on sale was 2 cents EACH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, I will admit, this was not for the cheapest ones. I had tried those and they smelled so bad I couldn’t stand using them. Horrible smell. But I hated the 2 cents each price. You can use a lot of those in just one diaper change. Then a friend told me how she made her own wipes, they smelled nice and were much cheaper. So we started making ours. Three kids later and we are still making them.

Our recipe is not exact science or measure but you will need:

1 roll (bounty works best) paper towel, cut in half so you have two short rolls

This mix makes enough for ONE of the short rolls, you’ll have to make the “juice” twice to make up both rolls.

2 cups water (a bit more is okay)

3 squirts of baby lotion
3 squirts of baby shampoo
2 long squirts of baby oil

Combine all in sauce pan, bring to a boil, stir often. Boil about 3 minutes until all ingredients are dissolved, you will have clumps of lotion if you don’t boil the mix long enough. Place paper towel roll in the pan, let some of the moisture soak in, then put the roll in your storage container (a tall canister shaped bowl with a lid works great), pour any remaining liquid over the roll. Put lid on tightly. The steam will finish getting the roll wet.

Now repeat with 2nd roll of paper towel.

Remove the paper towel cardboard center when the wipes cool enough to touch.
When you are all done you have wipes for a week or more.

Now head on over to We Are That Family to see what is working for others!

2 Comments

Posted in blog hops, works for me wednesday

What Does NOT Work for Me–WFMW

Posted on January 5, 2011 | 1 comment

This week’s What Works for Me Wednesday is a bit different, the theme is What Does Not Work for Me!

Mornings do not always work for me. I don’t mind being up, but I do mind trying to find my kids clothes, socks and shoes. Shoes, how I loathe thee! But we have been very diligent so far, 3 days, with putting out clothes for the kids and I the night before. That helps a lot. Much less stress for the whole family. Also, making lunches in the morning does not work for me. It doesn’t work for my hubby either, so he has been making them the night before. My hubby makes an amazing sandwhich. I am not sure what the secret is, but they are so yummy.

Being clocked in the head by my daughter does not work for me either. Sue was pushing Caitlyn who for some reason was holding her camera above her head; before I had a chance to control that situation, Caitlyn wacked me on the head with her new camera. Ugghhh. Her rotten apology doesn’t work for me either. She yelled at me “Sorry, I didn’t mean it.” For the record, she did not sound sorry. So after I dealt with Sue’s behavior, Caitlyn and I had a chat about how we apologize for hurting someone, EVEN if it is an accident. For the record, my head still hurts, the pain has outlasted the kidlets consequences. Ahhh, the joys of motherhood.

Going cold turkey off all candy is not working for me either. Hubby and I have started eating healthier this week and I am struggling with the junk cravings. I’m trying to keep them in check, but oh, the struggle!!!! And I refuse to give up my nightly chocolate milk. The baby needs me to get calcium, right?

I guess, right now, there are a few things that do not work for me!!! I hope you enjoyed these thoughts and will check out what is not working for others.

1 Comment

Posted in blog hops, habits, random thoughts, works for me wednesday

Ring Advent Calendar–WFMW

Posted on December 16, 2010 | 1 comment

We are starting to get the question, “when is it going to be Christmas? When is it going to be Christmas?” So I hunted up an advent calendar someone had given us. It’s cute, but it is all about the Santa and fantasy aspects of Christmas. Not really my goal for an advent calendar.

So what to do?

I remembered reading over at MckMama’s blog where she made a pair chain for her kids when counting down to her youngest’ birth. And that sounded like a good idea. I decided to do something like that for my girls. Yesterday I sat down and for the first time in decades. I made a paper link chain. Then I got to thinking about the Bible reading I have been doing. A few of us on twitter have started reading a Proverb a day along with reading Luke at our own pace (you can follow along #SONlight).

A thought came. To marry the two.

I decided to write verses on the chain links. Here are the verses I chose:

Luke 1:28-30
Matthew 1:20
Luke 1:31
Matthew 2:5
Luke 2:6-7
Matthew 2:10-11
Luke 2:28-29
Matthew 2:15
Luke 2:49
Luke 2:11-12
Matthew 2:1
John 3:16

Each night we are taking one link off and reading the reference. There are a lot more you could use, but those were some verses I selected. Maybe this will get us started on a family devotion of some sort.

Here is our little chain

Now I am going to head over to We Are That Family and see what works for other people.

1 Comment

Posted in blog hops, Christmas, special projects, works for me wednesday

Exercising with 3 Kids–WFMW

Posted on December 8, 2010 | 3 comments

Today’s Works For Me Wednesday is actually going to build on my Body After Baby. Way to marry two blog hops, huh?

How do I exercise with three kids? Well before Patrice was born, I had a membership to an actual gym, but with her coming and back to nursing full-time, I knew I would not want to take the time, in addition to work, being away from the kidlets. So we undertook a big project…we cleaned our basement and claimed it for exercise space. Hubby and I had his and her exercise equipment before we got married. I had a recumbant bike and he an eliptical machine, and our anniversary present to each other this year was a treadmill. And one Christmas I got the girls a mini trampoline. So we have all the equipment, we just have to get on it.

The bike, treadmill, eliptical and trampoline, known as a jump jump around here, are set up in front of the TV. That way we can watch something as we exercise. The girls think it is an extra special treat to go to “Our Gym.” And when they get bored I can turn on a cartoon for them. We also have some of their bigger doll toys down there, so they can play with the high chair, swing and dolly strollers while mommy and daddy exercise. And for Patrice, that is where we have the little “exersaucer” set up for her enjoyment.

I am finding running on the treadmill to be more challenging than outside, but I LOVE running outside. That is a little trickier to do with the girls. Caitlyn loves to run with mommy and she is quick. On days that I have a little bit of time, I start with her and she does the first block with me. We do a mix of run and walk. She is always so proud to jog with mommy. I so want to cultivate that in the girls. With the cold, it takes lots of bundling to get Patrice ready to go. Last week it was about 35 degrees when she went with me. I had her in a warm sleeper, hat and mittens, then a snow sack over her sleeper and a wearable blanket over that. I am going to make a blanket I can tie on to the stroller as well.

Sometimes it takes me three separate tries to get my exercise in, but every little bit helps and that is what Works for Me Wednesday. There are more ideas over at We Are That Family. Check it out!

3 Comments

Posted in blog hops, body after baby, exercising, kidlets, works for me wednesday