The Goodwill Steal

Like many-a frugal persons, I have no qualms about releasing my fashion nose in a search and rescue dog style within the walls of the local Goodwill store. We have an outlet shop here in town, and I can’t tell you how many $80+ dollar Ann Taylor skirts that I bought for only a mere $1.50 on Half Off Saturdays.

But this post isn’t about skirts, no It’s about buying a few good, decent jeans to wear post-pregnancy. Since I still have a hard time (that’s right, only a hard time) fitting in to my size 2 pre-pregnancy jeans I had to go shopping because the maternity pants were sagging to my knees with no belly to help hold them up.

I had to buy size 8 jeans (which I am in no way upset about, I think it’s a wonderful thing actually – perfect size).

It took me about an hour to realize I needed the size 8’s, but after I realized this I went to TOWN! But, I guess I’ll stop teasing you and tell you about my steal of a deal…

Due to spending way too much time at the Goodwill, I have noticed that if a brand is at the Outlet Mall and “popular” - the store automatically puts a “boutique” tag on it… (I once passed a J. Crew tank top with a HOLE in it marked at $7.00) – This has helped me out so much, but I was extra happy to find this deal! ….

I had a pair of Old Navy jeans that were marked up to $9.00 as a “boutique” item. I also had a pair of Banana Republic jeans…not marked up… hmm… and the Old navy pair had a stain on the back pocket (which my husband pointed out when I rambled how I couldn’t believe the BR jeans were not “boutique”… but I won’t complain.) I bought a pair of $80 jeans that honestly look brand-new not even washed for $3.50. I LOVE it.

My Baby Has Boobs!!

No, those aren’t cute little chubby fat rolls you see protruding from Baby K’s chest…Those are boobies. Apparently caused by my hormones, but YES - My newborn baby does in fact have boobs. ANNND, they leak milk. (Wonderful, right?)

The Pediatrician said that the boobs are fine, and NOT to do anything unless they become red or seem irritated, like when they start leaking. (Which has happened twice!) It is important to put a warm compress on her…*gulp*… breasts… when they start leaking or become red and hot to the touch. This is because even she (and MALE babies) can be at risk for the same enemy of the boob…Mastitis. So be SURE to call the Doctor if this happens.

You did read that right, boobs and leaky boobs are even common in male babies as well, so don’t freak out if you have a boy dripping a drop or two of milk from time to time. Here is a link to get more information:

WebMD

I almost wanted to give up...

Yesterday was a tough one. Baby K was cluster feeding most of the day. Every hour and a half she was nursing and my nipples were starting to get sore. At around 11pm I told her that if she continues eating this often Mommy is going to have to feed her a bottle with…… dundundun…formula! Thankfully she went from 11:30 to 4:30 and even then I had to wake her up for a feeding, but she only nursed for a few minutes before going back to a deep sleep. I tried to feed her again at 7:30 and she woke up somewhat to eat and then was just content starring at the wall.

So, I don’t truly plan on giving up (nor did I relly want to), but I may have been broken had she continued cluster feeding the entire night as well. Today is a new day, and I’m back and ready to go.

Munchin' Monday

Another new weekly segment here at Learning the Mommy Name is going to be "Munchin' Monday". As the name suggests I will be posting a recipe that we enjoy in this house every Monday. There may be more than one or recipes on other days of the week, but you'll always find a new one every Monday! 

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BAKED CHICKEN and PASTA

This week - I made a classic Freezer Meal Staple in this house. If you are not familiar with Freezer Meals I will be making a post explaining the process and the benefits to you sometime this week, but for now - I am just going to go through the recipe with you. 

Utensils:

Pot for Pasta
Sauté Pan
Spoon for Stirring
Spatula
Colander
Large Mixing Bowl
Baking Dish – 8X8X2 or larger **(1)**
Aluminum Foil (If Freezing part)  

Ingredients: **(2)**

• 1 box Penne Pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 or 2 large boneless/skinless Chicken Breast (cubed)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 small sweet pepper (diced)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
• Salt to Taste
• Black Pepper to Taste
• Bread Crumbs (as desired)
• Parmesan (as desired)
• 1 tablespoon butter (Plus a little to butter baking dish)

Directions:

• Preheat Oven to 400 degrees F.

·         Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta and put into a large mixing bowl. **(3)**

·         Heat Oil over Medium Heat in Sauté Pan.

·         Cook Chicken about 4 minutes or till mostly done.

·         Add Onions and Garlic, cooking till chicken and Onions are fully done.

·         Combine Chicken with Pasta in large bowl.

·         Add Tomatoes, Sweet Peppers, Cheese, Parsley, Salt, and Black Pepper and combine.

·         Distribute mixture into buttered dish and foil pans if freezing.

·         Sprinkle or Cover top with Bread Crumbs and Parmesan as you like.

·         Dot top with butter

·         Bake for about 30 minutes, or till top is golden brown.

****NOTES****

(1)   – I always make a large batch of this to freeze part of it. With the amounts of Ingredients given, I usually bake the 8X8X2 dish and then have 3 Mini-Loaf Aluminum Foil pans that I wrap with foil, date, and Freeze for lunch and quick single dinners. If you do not want to freeze any, simply bake in 2 dishes or a larger baking dish.

(2)   All the ingredients should be measured according to what you like. This is a variation of the original recipe that I was given – modified to fit what my family enjoys, feel free to modify it to fit yours. This is designed to have extras for freezing, so scale back accordingly if you would like a smaller batch.

(3)   You want to just slightly undercook the pasta. It will finish cooking in the oven.

Singing Saturday - Baa Baa Black Sheep

Another Classic that you can't help but love.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full!
One for the master, one for the dame,
And one for the little boy who lives down the lane

Belly Button Blues

We have the Belly Button Blues in this house today.

Let me start by saying that it took almost 11 days for Baby K’s umbilical stump to fall off. It bled afterwards, which everything says is alright. The doctor said not to worry if there is a little bleeding after it comes off.

At this time – I thought it was bleeding more than the little we were instructed to anticipate. My husband found some instructions telling us to press a piece of gauze on it for 15 minutes and if it hadn’t stopped bleeding then we needed to call the Doctor right away. We did this, and the bleeding seemed to stop.

Exactly one week after it fell off she woke up with dried blood around the belly button. I called the DR’s office and the nurse/receptionist told me that it was normal and fine and not to worry… well I worried and I WISH that I would have followed my instincts.

While this may not seem like a huge deal to anyone else, it is to me…

This morning at the DR appointment, he looked at her belly button after we told him it was really red and inflamed looking. He said it is not closing properly, but now it’s too far for him to be able to put the silver nitrate on it to help close it up, and we just have to wait for it to heal on its own.

Is it a huge deal? Probably not. Am I a little bit upset that my daughter has to be uncomfortable and in pain because the office worker that answered the phone didn’t say, “It’s more than likely ok, but since it’s been a week let’s go ahead and have the DR take a look”? You bet.

My Advice: Don’t wait if the belly button is bleeding or oozing more than what YOU consider a little. I did, and although I called the doctor when there was bleeding after a week – I wish, wish, wish, that I would have insisted on bringing her in to see the doctor if not when it first fell off and I was worried – I should have done so at that point when I found dried blood on it that morning a week later.  Please don’t make the same mistake. It may not be life threatening, but who wants to put their child through more pain that necessary?

Baby’s First Halloween Costume

Being just over 3 weeks old, it was rather daunting to consider a Halloween costume for Baby K. At first I wasn’t going to do any costume, but then I thought that it would be fun to have her dressed as something when the neighbors came over with their little ones to trick-or-treat.

I am all about homemade anything and everything as you will learn, and still recovering from delivery I didn’t have the energy/strength/time or the means to make a costume. ….Luckily, there is a Mom’s group on Facebook for my city. There I scouted out a WAHM (Working at Home Mom) to make me a beautiful Cocoon for Baby K.

For her first Halloween Baby K was dressed as a FOOTBALL. My husband and I are huge football fans (Go Colts) and I thought that this was original and unique to our family. She was beautiful and I loved that it was a handmade costume. =P

What did your children dress as?