Monday, February 23, 2015

Amanda's Recipe Collection

This is how my afternoon goes: I pick up Mae around 4:45. We head home to feed the dog and get her bottles going in the dishwasher. At this point I’m at 5:00 which gives me 30 minutes before Mae expects to eat dinner (the girl is serious about her food!). Unfortunately, she isn’t very interested in playing independently for more than 10 -15 minutes. This is my weeknight challenge: getting a dinner ready in 10-20 minutes with a 13 month old hanging around my ankles.


And that’s what this blog post is all about. A lot of our members are requesting “easy weeknight meals” on the Ladies with Babies pages. I thought it would be helpful to compile all of the suggestions from our wonderful ladies into one place. I’ve also added a few of my recent favorites. I hope this makes someone’s week a little easier!


Here are five of my go-to recipes:  
  • Tex Mex Lasagna- this is one of my meatless Monday staples. I use full-fat cheese and it’s filling enough for my husband too.
  • Honey Sesame Chicken- I make rice and roast a head of broccoli to make it a complete meal.
  • Cafe Rio Chicken- This chicken is really versatile (tacos, enchiladas, sandwiches) and can feed us for a few meals.
  • Baked Ziti- This recipe feeds us for days. Sometimes we even freeze half.
    • 1lb cooked ziti pasta, 2-3 zucchini/summer squash, (I also sometimes throw in a couple handfuls baby spinach), a pinch of red pepper flakes, 3 cups marinara, 1 lb cooked Italian sausage, ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese all mixed together in a 9x12 baking dish. I will get this much prepped the night before and then the next day I will top with another ¾ cup shredded mozzarella and a ½ cup grated parmesan and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.
  • Pizza- We use this recipe to make the crust on a weekend, pop it in the freezer then pull it out to thaw the morning we want to use it. We make all sorts of concoctions with our leftover vegetables and cheese from the previous week. My personal favorites are prosciutto/goat cheese/spinach and the recipe listed below for a honey roasted corn and pesto pizza (another meatless Monday gem).
LWB Approved Slow Cooker Recipes:


Other LWB Approved Recipes:
Pulled Pork
  • 4-5 lb pork butt (boston butt)
  • Spice mixture (one option is 1T chili powder, 1T salt, 1/2t cumin, 1/4t cinnamon)
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 yellow onions, sliced in half moons
  • 3 cloves of garlic
Rub meat with spice mixture of your choice. Put pork and all other ingredients into crock pot and turn to low for 8-10 hrs or on high for 6-8 hrs.
You can eat this plain, add bbq sauce, put in tacos, sandwiches, cook with eggs - so many options!
Pork Tacos
  • 1 Pork Tenderloin (if it's the kind that comes  with two strips only use one or double the recipe...Cube the pork tenderloin into 1 inch chunks)
  • 1 beer
  • 1 Pack of Original Taco Seasoning
  • 1 can (4 oz) Chopped Green Chilis
  • 1 clove of garlic (minced)
Add all of the above to your crock pot and heat on LOW for 7 hours
At hour 6 (the last hour) add cilantro (to taste) and use two forks to shred the meat. Sometimes you have to add a little water if it looks like you need more juice
Serve on tortillas with sour cream, salsa, guacamole, cheese.
Beef Tacos
  • 1 medium to large tri-tip seasoned lightly
  • 1 large can of pinto beans
  • 1 can of salsa-I've even used pace
Throw in crock pot on low for 8 hours.
Honey-Lime Enchiladas
Mexican Stuffed Shells
Kale and White Bean Stew
Glory Bowl:
(Our LWB member suggested using chicken instead of tofu if desired)
Ultimate Dragon Bowl
Lacto-Paleo Spinach Baked Chicken
Chicken Parmesan Burger
Homestyle Chicken and Biscuits
Healthified Chicken Tortilla Casserole
(Our LWB member says she prefers making it without the milk)
Roasted Tomato and Asparagus Tortellini
Oven Fried Pork Chops


Kid-Friendly Lebanese- Inspired Lamb Pita

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Monday, February 16, 2015

Comparing Kids: Jessica's Thoughts

Babies (toddlers, people) come in all shapes and sizes. And no shape, size, personality is the best one or the right one. But some how as a new mom its hard to really live this out sometimes. I want to talk about comparing kids..which leads to comparing yourself as a mom and as a person in general. My personal opinion is that I don’t think comparing has to always be a bad thing but there are definitely thoughts and attitudes related to this than can be dangerous.

Each kid is going to talk, walk, run, thrive at their own pace and most likely that is perfectly normal for them and there isn't a ton you can do to change their natural “timeline”. (disclaimer: if you are truly concerned about your child having trouble or not meeting a milestone please don't just talk to your mom friends- talk to your pediatrician. Well checks are in place at scheduled intervals for a reason. You kid may not be doing everything the day of your appointment but these visits are designed to catch things before they are big issues.) And please tell me I am not the only person who’s baby wasn't doing a specific “milestone” etc and the doctor talks at length about this only for her to turn around and do said thing hours later and then do it on repeat for days!! ...Babies will be babies. 

Comparing kids and ourselves can lead to a few negative results: We judge others for not doing something the way we are doing it, we judge ourselves for not being good enough compared to other moms, or the worst- we judge our kids for not keeping up with their peers. The bottom line- we need stop being so judgmental. (and so concerned with what others think!!)

But I do believe that comparing our kids can have some positive outcomes too. However, I think this works best in a situation with friends and loved ones that we trust and have a healthy relationship with, one where we genuinely love all the kids involved and want to see them grow, thrive, and succeed. This means a relationship without judgement (of ourselves, other moms, or any of the kids). 

One of my favorite kid comparisons is my daughter Laina and her friend April. We met when the girls were 2.5 months (Laina) and 4 months (April). I love to see them play and grow together but they have had very different strengths. Laina spent the better part of her first year screaming and pushing the limits with her motor skills and April is a super sweet linguist genius!  Laina started walking when she was 10-11 months old and April didn't crawl until after she was year. Laina could only say a handful of words after a year of life and April could say (pretty clearly) 25+ words on her first birthday. As their second year continues they are growing closer together in these skills and like most things with kids I'm sure they will even it all out pretty soon. But even for naps- there were times before Laina’s 1st birthday that she hadn't taken a nap in weeks (she thankfully now takes a 45-60 minute nap most days) and April took 2 naps that totaled over 3 hours into her 18th month. 

But one thing is for sure- they are super adorable together and they love being friends. Who knew watching your baby build friendships would be so amazing! And another thing I know- I have learned more from watching April and her mom Kourtney than I could reading any how-to baby book. Its actually beneficial to compare our girls. Because they have different strengths I see Kourtney and April doing/working on things that never even occurred to me. Countless times I have not given my daughter enough credit to teach her something but then I see April doing it and think “wow, I never would have thought to do that, or assumed she wasn't capable”. But its honestly not in a judgmental way- its with a broaden my horizons mindset. And I know the same is true for Kourtney watching us. The girls learn so much from each other and I know this is a great thing. One day they were playing and Laina was nourishing her obsession to push things around (shopping cart etc). So I brought out another push toy for April and she was hooked too. Kourtney said that was the first time she really pushed anything and when they went home she started pushing everything around- whether it was a push toy or not. Its wasn't something that she naturally wanted to do but she was totally capable once she realized it was an option. 


I guess my point is that we need to stop comparing ourselves and our kids to make sure we are keeping up, and instead start seeing that our kids are all different and this is good. We can learn from other mamas instead of judging each other. Being honest with our friends about our fears, struggles, and insecurities can lead to bonds that aren't easily broken and we can build partnerships for this parenting journey! You are doing a great job- even if you aren't doing it exactly the same as someone else.  

 ....jessica britnell



                                                               First Happy Hour together


Tea Party Time

High Five!

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Monday, February 2, 2015

Ramblings of a Twin Mom: 13 Month Bliss



For all you mamas with almost one-year-olds or just turned one-year-olds, maybe you can relate to this; maybe not. You will find in my blog posts I tend to ramble. It's the only way I can write and truly express how I'm feeling. So here it is....ramblings of a twim mom:

After the dust settles, and I can finally see a few feet in front of me, I look around and I have 13 month old twin girls who bring joy to my life now more than ever. The first year was HARD. like really really hard. I loved the newborn stage, but I think the hardest for me was 10-12 months. I was plagued with anxiety and borderline depressed. I didn't know how to handle my girls getting older and all the transitions that came with it (whole milk, sippy cups, table foods, no more formula, no more bottles...the list goes on.). Not to mention, trying to plan a 1st birthday party! (Can we just talk about how insane that is to try and plan a 1st birthday with all the stress of Pinterest when you are an emotional wreck?! That's for another blog post.) So. much. stress. So. many. emotions. As their birthday approached I found myself reminiscing about this time last year (my last days of being so insanely huge and ridiculously pregnant). Not knowing I was about to give birth and spend the next weeks juggling being a NICU mom. (There's ANOTHER blog post). And also feeling pretty darn proud of myself for having one whole year of motherhood under my belt without killing anyone. But also, I was sad that the early days were slipping away right before my eyes. 

 I was so nervous about having toddlers. I don't know anything about them. What do they like? What do they do for fun? Ah! I just want my babies to stay babies!! I know babies. I'm comfortable with babies. So then the day came....their first birthday. they went to bed babies the night before and were going to wake up toddlers... right? wrong! nothing changed...well at least not a toddler transformation! I did notice some subtle changes begin to take place....like this weight being lifted off my shoulders...I can't explain it, but it's like it almost instantly got easier when they turned 1. Maybe it was getting past the birthday party and the holidays that made it seem that way, but I truly think there is something about 13 months that is, well.... blissful! After all the chaos from the first birthday party subsides and you can start to see straight again, you are left with your baby who is more fun and more hilarious than ever before! By this time you should be sleeping more, and feeling actually almost normal again. like a new version of yourself. You've started feeling like a pro at managing the chaos, unorganized diaper bags, multi-tasking with one hand, and having your home look more like a daycare than a Pottery Barn catalog. You actually even start to find joy in it....maybe.

And, it is at this point you start to forget. You forget how FREAKING hard it is being a new mom....running on absolutely no sleep, experiencing crazy emotions you didn't even know existed, spending your life feeding, pumping, swaying, bouncing, WHATEVER worked...then repeat. The three hour rotation that was your life for so long is now gone and forgotten. And you look at your baby and think "you are so cute...I think I want another one!" WHAT?! After all you just went through to get to this point...you want to do it again!? It's craziness! But I think that is how God designed it. He gives you grace by allowing you to forget. If he didn't we all know there would be no such thing as siblings! Because see, the first year is hard as hell, but after the dust settled you are left with something more amazing than you ever thought possible. Your baby... at 13 months.

DISCLAIMERS: 
*Now, I'm not saying I want more babies right now. I am actually pretty content feeling like I have some sort of control restored in my life. However, that isn't out of the realm of possibility anymore. 
*And, I'm not saying that this 13 month bliss thing applies to everyone. I'm sure many of you reading this might want to throw daggers at me right now, because your 13 months is anything but blissful. ....

*And, lastly, I'm not saying that it's not still hard, because God knows it is! In fact, right affter I wrote this, one of my babies was up all night screaming...like possessed screaming....all. night. long. The struggle is real, yall! This mom thing is the hardest gig I have ever and will ever do. But the joy is real, too. And these days I'm finding more tears of joy than hardship. Whether this happens for you at 13 months, 15 months, or 18 months (or years), it will...You will feel lighter on your feet...you will start to regain interest in things you did pre-baby (whether you have time to actually do them or not)...You will start to forget the early days...and you might just feel inclined to set out to conquer it all over again.
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