Peach picking!

Charlotte and I joined her aunt Jenna and cousin Holden, and friends stacia and Waylon to pick pea he's and black berries at Webers Peachberry Farm! It was a lot of fun and we got lots of goodies! 

Charlotte ate TONS of blackberries while picking. Jenna asked how many you could eat while picking before it was considered stealing, and we decided in ten, pretty sure she ate AT LEAST fifteen, her first theft! She tried to eat a peach but it didn't pan out! 

It was a lot of fun and I made tons of goodies with my purchases! We are planning to go to Webers Cider Mill Farm in the fall for apples, hayrides, hay maze and other fall fun. I hear it is a great place, and their apple cider donuts are amazing! 

I love getting Charlotte out and about and in the sunshine! She is a lucky duck doing so many fun things, but I'm wayyy luckier bc I get to do them with her! 

Make your own baby food pouches!

So I always said I wanted to make my own food for Charlotte, as a busy single working mom, it didn't always pan out, sure I would make sweet potatoes and mash them up but nothing to this level! 

When I saw on Pinterest (where else do I get my ideas haha) that you could make your own pouches I was in love! Charlotte can suck down a pouch in a matter of seconds, even though she's 15 months old now she still loves them! They save my life in target or the grocery store on a weekly basis and I love adding them to her lunch or breakfast I pack at daycare to add extra fruit or veggies other meals, they also make great toddler a snacks, no mess, no clean up, and much healthier than other options!

So I used some coupons and a gift card and ordered disposable pouches online, while researching I read people had trouble filling them on their own and used pastry bags and a piping thing. I am not Martha Stewart so I do not own these things, but infantino sells a filling station as well. Pouches cost me about $10 for 50 and the station was $15 and came with 10 pouches. Figured it was cheap enough to try without investing a fortune! 

I had a ton of peaches from peach picking so most of my "recipes" involve peaches hahaha! 

First step: gather ingredients, I had apples, bananas, whole milk yogurt, plums, peaches, strawberries, spinach and zucchini! (You'll see oats in the picture too but I didn't get around to making the oatmeal breakfast smoothies...next time friends, next time!)

Next step: add whatever you want to a blend and blend.

I made six different flavored tonight! Here were my combos: 

Just peaches!

Peach, spinach and yogurt

Strawberry, banana, yogurt and spinach

Apple, peach, zucchini and spinach 

Plum, peach and spinach 

Apple, strawberry, zucchini

As you can see I snuck a lot of veggies in, I meant to add carrots and squash as I have some in the fridge already chopped up, but got forgot! The combinations at endless! She loves mangos so I will be adding them to my next batch! *note I did have to thin the apple ones out a little bit with a tiny bit of water, but you could use fruit or better yet V8 to thin it out! If you boil your food first use the water you boiled it in to get the extra nutrients!

I didn't cook any of my fruits or veggies, just washed them, chopped and added! I have read for really young babies you will want to boil everything first, but Charlotte is old enough where she eats raw fruit and veggies all the time so that wasn't a concern for me and saved a lot of time!

Next step: add to the filling station and fill! Ok this is the exciting step!! The machine is sooooo easy to use and worth every penny! You basically just pour the mixture into these tubes and push down. You then just detach the pouch and screw on the lid! Voila! Done! 

I ended up making 43 pouches tonight, but could have done more if I wasn't exhausted haha my estimated cost, including the pouches (not the filling station) was fifty one cents a pouch! FIFTY ONE CENTS! I usually buy plum or Ella's kitchen pouches (which I love) but are much more costly, the target brand pouches are $1.09 each regularly! I'm amazed at the price difference of making my own in big batches! I also love that the bags are cute and clear so I can see all the flecks of goodness in there! The best part is that I picked the peaches myself with Charlotte and actually really enjoyed making my own pouches! I highly recommend buying this if you want to make your own pouches! If you aren't into disposable pouches there are a ton of reusable ones out there, I know it's terrible but I love being able to toss them and not having to worry a out washing them! But reusable ones would also save your more $$$ in the long run, costly at first if you make in large batches like me!

 Infantino says you can fridge them for 48 hours or freezer them for two months! Two months! I popped mine all in the freezer! Perfect for me, I usually pack her lunch the night before, so I can just grab one of these in the morning and add it in, and by afternoon snack or lunch it'll be thawed! You can also run them under water for a quick thaw! 

Each flavor:

In the freezer: 

All in a this was a really fun experience and saves me money (and time, less shopping ahhaha!) it was time consuming about two hours of work, but she went to sleep so I could finish!

Here she is helping...mostly just eating ingredients haha

I really did have fun making them and feel very accomplished! I also tasted all of them and they were yummy yummy! I recommend these products a million times over, if anyone wants to buy their own pouches and borrow my filling station you're more than welcome to it :) 

Replacing Noodles with veggies

Charlotte loves a carb. I love a carb. Charlotte is slowly turning into a more picky eater and becoming more selective. In addition she more and more wants whatever I'm eating. Usually I'd make a separate meal for her, especially when she was on purées and then soft mashable foods and then only finger foods. Anyway, since she's wanting whatever I'm eating and to save myself the trouble of making too meals/only making something for her then eating pop tarts or a hot pocket for dinner I am attempting to cook in advance and eat healthier. By no means is the meal "healthy" due to the amount of cheese I used hahaha but it has very minimal carbs, which is something she gets a lot of and more green veggies something she gets less of. So it's healthier. 

Anyway I thought I'd share my recipe in case anyone was interested! 

First assemble your ingredients! Feel free to put whatever you want in. I used about a pound of lean ground beef (change to turkey for healthier), some Italian sausage (I always like to use beef and sausage in my Italian recipes!) tomato sauce (I usually make my own but was feeling lazy, this is where you can get real crafty, next time I'm mincing carrots, peppers, some spinach and mixing it into my sauce to pump us full of more veggies) cheese (I used ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and Romano....I told you I added a lot of cheese) 1 egg, and a large zucchini! 

What I did next was slice the zucchini. As you will see mine is short because I used my kitchen aid slicer attachment (again, lazy) but if you aren't lazy or have a mandolin slicer you can slice the entire length of the zucchini and it will be the length of a lasagna noodle! Now here is the important part I skipped! When you sit your zucchini slices aside, salt them to take out the moisture, zucchini has a lot of moisture.  

Next I mixed my ground beef and sausage and browned it in a pan with spices (I use garlic, pepper, salt, parsley, and red pepper) 

Then mix all your cheeses and the egg (I save some mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano for a nice layer of cheese on the top) 

Now that you have all your layers mixed and ready to go, just layer it up! 

I did, zucchini, meat, sauce, cheese, zucchini, meat, sauce, cheese, zucchini then topped it with the remaining cheese,  I baked it at 395 for I have no idea how long....just use your judgement, when its bubbly and brown in top it's ready to go! 

So I didn't salt my zucchini so it was definitely juicy due to the water from the zucchini but I had no problem with that, and after it set it turned solid again. Another tip I read online, was to grill your zucchini before layering which is provably good too, but I like that it was a tad crunchy (I always cook my noodles "al dente") 

Then....eat!! 

 

Science Center

Charlotte and I decided to hit up the science center for their Fridays after five discount admission and their cool patio party! 

It was my first time taking her to the science center and my first time going there in years! It is way cooler than I remember and the free patio party was an added bonus! 

The science center has a really cool kids room to play in with lots of things to touch and do! There was lots of room for her to run around and play as well which was nice. 

There was a lot to look at and a lot to see, she loved the water table and looking at the stars in the space exhibit. She also really enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit and digging in the sand for fossils. 

The patio party is something the science center offered for free, food and drinks and live music outside. The best part was the fun stuff try had for kids outside. Lots of bubbles and blocks and hula hoops and fun!

Charlotte had a blast and since she's started walking she's all over the place so it was extra fun! The science center on discount admission day is something I highly recommend! It's easy to get to, parking is plentiful, affordable, and lots to do! Any place that encourages touching and running around is for Charlotte!

Zoo trip!

I've been terrible at updating lately! Summer has ended and I go back to work tomorrow :( we had a great week together and an amazing summer! This last week we went to the zoo for member mornings! 

Charlotte had sooo much fun! She loves animals! Her other current love is bracelets. 

Anyway, member mornings are great! It wasn't crowded at all and we got to ride the train for free! She loves the train! 

She had a blast pointing and waving at all the animals, the zebras are her favorite for sure, although she calls them "zaaas"

Feeling a certain type of way....

Summer is almost over. I'm in my last few days of sunshine bliss. I'm heartbroken that I have to go to work next week. 

I've enjoyed every moment I've had with Charlotte. I've loved our lazy mornings and day time adventures. Our nights with endless time to read books together. 

I've loved watching her grow and learn. I still can't believe I have a walker on my hands! My baby girl is so sweet, loves to give kisses and cuddle. 

I am fearful that I won't take as much time to savor the little things when I get busy being back at work. I'm fearful that Charlotte will not have the same attachment to me that she does now. I'm afraid ill just turn into the lady that drops her off at daycare in the morning and puts her to bed at night, not her awesome mommy!

My goal is to remember to make time for the little things and savor those moments. To make everyday fun, and not to get caught up in the rush of being busy and everyday life. I will try not to fret when I forget to pack something for daycare, or get upset when I'm late for work because Charlotte spilled milk on me. I will try not to rush through the bedtime routine because I'm exhausted. I will remember that one more book is worth losing the extra sleep. 

I've made time this summer to do fun adult things as well. When I'm happy I'm a better mom. This will be much harder when I go back to work. When I get to spend 24 hours a day 7 days a week with Charlotte, I don't feel guilty or bad or like I'm missing something when i go out for three hours one night. I think it will be be too hard for me to continue that once I'm missing everything all day long. How do parents balance work, spending time with their amazing kids and making time for themselves? 

I hate change. I hate not getting what I want. I know it's awful, but I'm working on being less selfish. I know that I can't have everything that I want but I still yearn for it. Charlotte will never be this age again, and I hate having to miss it. 

Some days I go to sleep and pray that when I wake up this will all be a dream, that I won't have to go to work or deal with anything in the real world. I dream that I can just exist. Just live the life I want to live and not the life I have to live. I dream that I'll win the lottery and I can stay at home with Charlotte for as long as I want. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm so thankful to have a job, most people aren't as lucky as I am. It's important to remember the things I am grateful for in life. I am happy that I am smart and capable and able to provide Charlotte with a fullfilling life. In the end that's what matters most. 

Knowing I'm lucky and fortunate doesn't make it any easy though. I've had so many changes in the last year, so much stress, so much heartache, but this summer has been a god send. I've been able to do the things I want to do, I am so so grateful for the time I've had. It's important for me to focus on the good things, I have a lot to look forward to, and with my new job, it will be the first time since graduating I won't be working Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas, ill have a whole week off in winter, a whole week in spring and before I know it summertime will be here again and Charlotte and I will start a whole new series of summer time adventures. 

It's also important for me to remind myself that there are plenty of GREAT AMAZING moms out there that do work. For some reason I'm stuck in a loop, where I think I need to be a stay at home mom to be a great mom, but here's the thing, two months ago I was a working mom and was fucking amazing at it! It's important to remind myself that even though I have to work to provide for Charlotte, I can still be that fucking amazing mom. 

I guess the hardest part is that she will never be this age again, I will never watch her learn to walk or talk or feed herself again. I wish their was a way to bottle up her kisses and baby talk and sweet chubby cheeks, so that I could take it with me wherever I go. The good news is that I feel like that is normal, and even stay at home moms wish for that too. 

So, as I've done before when I'm feeling a certain type of way, I make a gratitude list, it always helps and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. 

*charlotte

*fun day at the zoo

*diet coke 

*running baby

*charlotte kisses

*charlotte cuddles

*touch and feel books

*friends 

*friends, esp Amanda who walked Charlotte around the store so I could make my purchase without her screaming (seriously, god forbid I don't let Charlotte walk for two minutes haha)

*new hairspray

*a great weekend and a fun night out at hibachi

*two great jobs that pay me and treat me well

*mommy friends that have me and Charlotte over for an amazing dinner I didn't have to cook

*family, esp GG and Jenna who always hang out with me and Charlotte 

*two months of sleeping in, baby kisses and cuddles non stop

*a roku box and hbo go

*a roof over my head

*food in my stomach (particularly the Mexican pizza haha)

*a baby sleeping soundly

*a bed to sleep on

*my iPhone to blog from and stay in contact with the world

*baby food pouches (seriously grateful to whoever invented those)

*stick stickley

*BB cream and mascara for making me look presentable in five minutes 

*baby pools

*wegmans mini peanut butter pie

Summer Socials

I haven't had a post in a little while! It's been harder than I thought to keep up to date this summer! 

I thought I would share out experience at West Shore Park! The downtown waterfront partnership hosts a series called summer socials. It had music, food trucks, a fountain to play in, and an awesome kids play area, and it was free! 

I highly recommend checking these out, was worth it! Charlotte had SO much fun! She danced in the grass to Kelly Bell Band, had fries with crab dip and yummy cupcakes, played in the fountain and loved the kids area! Her favorite part was The tunnels they had out that she could crawl through! 

The kids area was nice because it was fenced off! I loved this part and heard other moms talking about how nice it was to be able to let their kids be farther away from them without worrying as much. 

They had lots of stuff for the kids, balls, cars to ride in, bubbles, hula hoops, a mini bounce place with a basketball net and lots of freebies like frisbee a and things!

For the adults they had great prices on beer/sangria etc. and the food trucks as always impress, they are my favorite, a cheap delicious dinner! The music was also great! 

The fountain was super fun, Charlotte was very interested in it even though she wasn't walking yet, she crawled around! It was crowded but nothing too bad! 

I've loved being able to do so many new and fun (and free) things with her this summer, it's been amazing watching her learn and explore the world around her!