Once a month cooking experience

Last Sunday I tried "once a month cooking."  I was browsing around Pinterest (a fun website) and kept seeing all of these recipes for freezing.  I loved the idea of not having to worry about what you are cooking or making sure that I have time.  Some days Walker would be napping and I would get a chance to prepare dinner, but most days it was a challenge to play with him and get a decent dinner ready.  So when I came across this amazing blog where this woman cooks for an entire month in one day I was intrigued.

The blog is http://onceamonthmom.com/.  She provides a monthly menu, the recipes, the shopping list, instructions for the most efficient order to cook things, and the labels for freezing and how to re-heat.  It was so simple.  My neighbor had mentioned doing some sort of cooking club a few weeks ago, so I asked her if she wanted to help with this and cook for her family too.  I went to the store and picked up the items off the grocery list and then Sunday we set to work.  I started the cooking at noon and was finished by 6.  It was definitely a lot of work, but has been so worth it each night.  Did I mention that you also cook breakfast and lunch too! 

I have loved walking to the freezer and getting my breakfast, being able to make a super quick lunch, and then not taking a bunch of time out of my day to make dinner but still enjoying a great meal.  I totally recommend that you try this if you feel stressed about "what's for dinner."  It was also great going to Wal-Mart this week and only getting some salad and sides.  So quick and cheap. 

Here is the list of food that we cooked:
Raspberry Breakfast Cake, Bacon Hashbrown Wraps, Breakfast Popsicles, Smoked Sausage Mac and Cheese, Pita Pizzas, Chicken Burritos, Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken, Green Chile Burgers, Ranch Burgers, Baked Vegetable Sandwiches, Garlic Chicken Farfalle, Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches, Peanut Butter Pork Kabobs, and Dressed Up Sloppy Joes.  (Yes, 14 different things)

This is some of the ingredients.  It was a lot of stuff!

Each item is made to eat twice during the month.  So far everything that we have had we have liked.  I am going to wait and see if it is enough for the month and is better financially.  I think it is cheaper, but not sure that it will be enough for the month...I am still eating a TON because of breastfeeding Walker, so maybe I should have cooked for 3 people instead of 2 :)

Happy 1/2 birthday Walker

You are officially 1/2 a year old.  I have heard that 6 months starts the beginning of "the fun times" from many parents, so I am pretty excited because we have been having a lot of fun already.  I can only imagine how much better it might get.  You weigh 19lbs and 13oz.  I am not sure how long you are because you don't go in for your 6 month check up for a couple more weeks. 

August was really hot and...well hot.  I had big plans for us to go on the lake all the time since I am not working much, but it was just too crazy to try and put you on a boat while it was so hot outside.  The lake water was even so hot that it was not that refreshing. 

We started off this month with some "poop issues" and me giving you a suppository (see previous post if you dare).  We have continued to have some issues in this area.  I think you just don't like to go or you are trying to be a super sweet baby and know that I don't like to change poopy diapers.  I think I only changed 4 this month.  We have seen the doctor about this but he doesn't seem worried and thinks that you will grow out of it. 

We started on some solids this month for two reasons.  The first was that you started waking up at 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 and then 7:15.  It was exhausting!  You would nurse all the time so I figured you were just hungry.  Now that you are eating a small lunch and dinner you sleep SO much better.  I also thought that if we started you on solids with fiber that they would help to move things along.  We first tried avocado, which you loved but it upset  your stomach and gave you a small diaper rash.  We then tried sweet potatoes (you loved), then butternut squash (you loved), then pears (not surprising you also loved).  I have plenty of other things for you to try in September.  I love feeding you and you have such good table manners...hope this lasts.  Right now I am making your food because it cheaper, more convenient, and fun for me to do.  I freeze it in little ice cube trays.  You eat two ice cubes for lunch and two for dinner.  Each cube is approximately one ounce. 

Great news, you are drinking from a sippy cup now!  This has been wonderful and means that I have been able to work or go out while someone else watches you for a bit.  You and your dad spent your first evening together for longer than two hours the other day while I went to play softball.  You had so much fun and did great together. 

You stopped wanting to be swaddled for bedtime this month.  I think that might have been part of the waking up more too.  I had to go and buy some sleepers because you didn't have any.  The only thing you had ever slept in was the halo sleep sack.  I just cut the bottom when you started to get too big.  Your dad and I love watching you sleep in your sleeper pjs.  We just talk on and on about how big you look and how fast you are growing up.  Some nights you don't even want me to rock you.  I just put you in the crib and you put yourself to sleep.  I am sad about this because I used to use this time to pray for you and our family, but I am working on finding a new routine for this.  Even though I don't get to rock you every night I still pray for you as I place you in the crib.  Soon I hope we will be praying together.  You have started sleeping on your side, which would be fine except you smash your face into the crib bumpers (which are mesh) and stick one leg over the bumper out of the crib slot.  I would go crazy worrying about you if we didn't have the Angelcare monitor that lets me know you are still OK. 

You were dedicated at church this month (also a previous post) and did so great. 
You babble much more now and are blowing "raspberries."  This would be fine except you also like to spit your spit up everywhere, so now rather than just dripping out of your mouth it is projectile as you spit it across the room...fun for me to explain and clean up. 

We traveled with G-mama to Little Rock for 3 days because she had some work down there.  You and I went to the mall and played in the hotel pool.  I loved being able to just be with you and watch you enjoy a new place and new people.  G-mama also loved getting to spend so much time with you.  However, your dad was ready for us to be home because that was the longest he had been away from you.

Our daily schedule looks something like:
8:00 wake up and nurse
9:00 1 oz of apple juice with 1 oz of water
10:00 nap
11:00 wake up and nurse
12:00 2 oz of food
1:00 nap
2:00 wake up and nurse
4:00 nap
5:00 wake up and nurse
6:00 2 oz of food
7:30 nurse
7:40 bath time
8:00 bedtime massage
8:30 asleep
you usually wake up once and nurse during the night.
When you awake you have blanket time on the floor with your toys.  You like to practice rolling over and sitting up.  You also play in your jumper or exersaucer.  You still like to be in your swing a lot too, especially when you want to be rocked but I am busy.  Some days you take more short naps and then some days you take only a couple of long naps.  But you are happy no matter what. 

Baby x-rays

What started out as a slow paced craft day quickly turned into an all-nighter (well, morning if you consider that it was really 1am-6am) and then all day at the doctor.  Yesterday made day 7 of no poop for Walker.  We have been eating solids consistently for a couple of weeks now (2 oz at lunch and dinner).  He loves to eat, but I was starting to worry about where it was all going...Well bright and early, way too early, Walker woke up with gas.  He was wide awake and wanted to play.  Every few minutes he would strain like he wanted to poop, but nothing would happen.  At 3am, I finally broke down and gave him another suppository.  It worked for the night and gave him some relief to be able to sleep in his swing until morning.  We got in to see the doctor, not really because I thought he was super sick, but because I wanted to be educated on how I can keep this from continuing to happen.  The doctor was very supportive and said that we are doing the right things and to increase our juice to 1 oz a day.  He also ordered a stomach x-ray to make sure everything "is in the right place."  During the appointment he asked if we had ever been told of a heart murmur.  I said no (but then Marcus later reminded me that Walker had one in the hospital when he was born).  The doctor went ahead and ordered a chest x-ray since we were already getting one for the stomach and he thought he could hear a murmur. 

Walker and I then spent the afternoon waiting to get his x-rays.  We had good cuddle time and he loved watching all the other kids in the waiting rooms (all the other sick kids, yuck, germs).  Everything turned out fine on the x-rays, healthy heart and tummy.  The doctor said to add some miralax to Walker's juice to help keep things moving.  I hope this works because Walker is definitely into his solid food and did not like it yesterday when we missed his lunch. 

The whole experience really made me stop and realize how much my heart has grown because of Walker.  I feel like before him I was like the Grinch, but now my heart has swollen full of love for him.  I honestly didn't get that anxious about the x-rays yesterday because I trusted that things would be ok, but I still ached and hurt in my heart for my sick baby.  It is crazy the amount of feelings that I am aware of now.......I am sure some of them are hormones still from having a baby, but I think most of them are because I was given this great gift to love.