Okay, so I know that so many of my friends are interested in Baby Boy’s birth story.

Its a sort of reality-TV-for-the-child-bearing-years. Almost every mom gets a kick out of hearing all the details of others stories. I am no exception.

So I thought I would share Baby Boy’s story. However in order to protect the eyes of any men who read this blog to keep up with our family I have decided to do it in a different way than in a post.

See, I know that many men are thoroughly creeped out by words such as cervix, placenta, contraction, and the like. This is due to the great mystery that IS labor and delivery and all that goes on in a womans body to bring forth a baby.  I know most men, if you are not a husband or dad, do not realize that there is nothing awkward about these words, however in order to protect you I will not post them here.

If you are NOT creeped out by these words, and desire to hear our story, feel free to click here to read it in a google document.

Unmarried guys, consider yourself forewarned.

]]> http://robinsonhomesweethome.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/a-story-with-forewarning/feed/ 3 robinsonhomesweethome finger color 8 by 8 veiwfinder http://robinsonhomesweethome.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/baby-things-i-love-this-time-around/ http://robinsonhomesweethome.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/baby-things-i-love-this-time-around/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:51:16 +0000 robinsonhomesweethome http://robinsonhomesweethome.wordpress.com/?p=2156 Continue reading →]]> With Little Man there were a few things that we couldn’t live without…our baby swing was one of them. It was the only way I could get him to sleep longer than 45 min. for a long time.

This time around there are very different things that I have found myself so incredibly thankful for their invention. For any Mommy friends out there or soon to be Mommy’s, I thought I would share:

1) Bassinet: A friend of mine lent me this sleeping apparatus after Baby Boy spent the first 2 weeks sleeping in his car seat.  He seemed to prefer to be at an incline instead of flat on his back or sitting directly up in the swing.  In fact he couldn’t care less about his baby swing, really.  This thing has been SO great.  Its light so it is easy to bring up and down stairs and from room to room, which we do all day long.  Baby Boy sleeps great in it!  I think its because it kind of cups him, making him feel like he’s being held.

2) Video Monitor: We now have the Motorola 2.8 inch Digital Baby Monitor and it is SO wonderful! We first bought this one and it was horrible, cheaply made, and broke within 2 weeks.  For someone as frugal as me, you can imagine this was incredibly frustrating. We returned it and did more research and decided on the Motorola one and couldn’t be happier.

With Little Man, I always found myself wishing I had a video monitor.  I would want to check on him while he was sleeping in his crib, but didn’t want to open the door and either wake him, or let him see me.  So we decided with our second to make the investment.  We even bought an extra camera so Little Man has one in his room too.  The monitor has a talk back feature on it so when I see Little Man NOT going to sleep, pulling the window curtain over his head, picking his nose, etc…I can talk to him with the monitor base and tell him to stop.  Ha!  The first time it really flipped him out even though we had talked about how I would be able to talk to him from downstairs.  Hubby and I got a very good laugh out of Little Man’s reaction.

(If you have a baby and have swaddled before, this cartoon should be hilarious to you.)

3) Super Amazing Swaddling Technique: LIFE CHANGING ladies…this is life changing…click on the link and watch the video! I know every baby thinks they don’t like to be swaddled, but unfortunately, they don’t know what is best for them (And best for mom, because with this way of swaddling, they literally can not bust their little flailing arms out and they sleep SOOO much better.) Baby boy immediately calms and falls to sleep when wrapped up this way.

We do it just a little different.  I cut a flannel swaddling blanket into 3 large triangles and use them for the “bat wings’ part, laying the triangle inside another swaddling blanket ready to be wrapped around him.  If I use a whole blanket folded in half as a triangle and then another to wrap around him he gets too warm.  I use the Aden and Anais swaddling blankets to wrap around the outside and they are perfect!

Those are our top baby things right now.  Do you have a few favorites of your own?  Id love to hear.

Over the last days I have found myself singing these lyrics over and over, “This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing. Haste, haste to bring Him laud, the babe the Son of Mary.”

May our hearts quicken to give Him praise always and today as we celebrate the greatest gift the world will ever know.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

6lbs 13 oz. 19 inches long..not bad for a 37 weeks delivery! He was and is, totally healthy. God is so generous. Mommy is doing great as well.

Things around here have been pretty focused on enjoying this newest bundle and settling into our family of four. It was been wonderful. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the last couple weeks.

Just in time for Baby Boys arrival, since the goal was to have it done by the time he was born.  AND I am 36 weeks this week.  Only another month-ish until his predicted arrival time.  Oh I can hardly wait.  The baby room is also coming along.  I will show you that next!

Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix
1 rounded tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dill
1/4 tsp. red pepper

Mix all ingredients and store in an air tight container.

I usually quadruple this recipe and keep it in a glass jar in my spice cabinet to be used whenever I need it.

For a yummy Ranch Dressing:

Mix 2 tsp. ranch seasoning mixture with 1/2 cup full fat plain yogurt (could sub sour cream if needed) and 1/2 cup mayonnaise. Store in refrigerator. Best if allowed to ‘marinate’ in the fridge overnight to let the flavor mesh

(Photo Credit)

So I saw these little beauties a long long time ago on the Rachel Ray Show.  I used to LOVE watching her 30 min. meals back in the day.  We went to a little game day party at our friend recently and I decided to give them a try…oh…my…goodness.  They are SO yummy.  I served them with my Homemade Ranch Dip. So so yummy you guys.

Poblano Chili ‘Fries’

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 poblano peppers, de-seeded and cut into sticks

• 1 cup flour, divided

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 2 tablespoons mustard, whatever variety you like (I used spicy mustard)

• 1 cup breadcrumbs

• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

• Salt and ground black pepper

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400ºF. Set up 3 plates on the counter; in one spread the flour, in the second beat the eggs with the mustard and about 2 tablespoons of flour, in the third combine the breadcrumbs, cheese and some salt and pepper.

• Coat the peppers in the flour, then in egg and finally in the breadcrumbs, pressing to make sure coating sticks. Roast peppers in the oven, turning halfway through baking until golden brown and crispy, about 18 minutes.

• Serve immediately.

Notes: I ended up tripling the amount of ingredients I needed for the dredging process. I’m not sure why I needed so much more than the original recipe called for. But they turned out yummy nonetheless!  Also I lined the baking pans with parchment paper. It really helped to get the ‘fries’ extra crispy.

Last weekend, my incredible sister’s in law and mother in law threw me a sweet shower for Baby Boy.  There was delicious food, fun games, and wonderful company.  Fun Fact: Every guest in attendance either had a baby in their belly, or a baby of their own under the age of 6 months…crazy right?  We are for sure in the season of babies in our lives right now, as are most of our friends…

Here’s a few pictorials:

Much fun was had.  Have I mentioned that I am pretty sure that I have the best friends and family that a girl could ever ask for?  I am one thankful lady.

I bought my dream camera.  I did.  I saved for…many years.  Literally.  And I bought it; my first digital SLR  Have you noticed a difference in the pictures on here?  I have even started doing a bit of photography in my ‘free’ time.  I am so very much enjoying it!  It has been a great new artistic outlet for me!  And I have been given some super fun and unique opportunities to serve friends, family and ministries that we love with it!

Recently I have been intrigued by extended exposure.  So of course, who better could I get to help me than my most enthusiastic photography helper; Little Man.

How cool is that?  We got some really cool ones of us writing out our names, but since we do not put names on here…I can not show you.  Sorry.

The one above I took at an exposure speed of 2.0 seconds.  Little Man is spinning a glow stick around on a string.  Pretty cool huh?

Just thought I would share.

Now what?!? Go make it for goodness sake.

The perfect fall dessert. Moist, spicy cake with a creamy sweet maple topping. Mmmm.

Spiced Pumpkin Cake with Maple Butter Cream Icing
Makes two 8 inch round cakes or one 9×13 sheet cake

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted (you could sub whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup buttermilk (I used a cup of milk mixed with 1 tbsp. lemon juice. let it sit for 30 min. at room temp.)
2 sticks butter, softened (NOT melted)
1 cup sucanat (could use brown sugar)
1 cup white sugar (could use all sucanat for a whole foods version)
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Line the bottoms of 2 round 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Grease the parchment, as well as the sides of the pans. Preheat the oven to 325°. Center a rack in the oven.

To make the cake, combine the flour, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine pumpkin puree and buttermilk and mix until smooth. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase to high speed and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and scraping down the bowl between additions. Add the vanilla extract and beat on high for 30 seconds. With the mixer running on low speed, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the batter, until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Immediately divide the batter between the prepared cake pans, spreading evenly. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 10 minutes. Invert onto a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

(Original cake recipe that I changed a bit found here)

Maple Butter Cream Icing

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, softened

4 cups of powdered sugar

1 1/2  tsp. maple extract

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2-3/4 tsp. salt (This may seem like a lot for an icing recipe, but it gives it such a good flavor, like a salted caramel mocha)

2-3  tbsp. half and half or milk

(If you have a standing mixer, you’ll want to use it for the buttercream.)

In a large bowl or 5-qrt standing mixer cream butter & maple extract until smooth.  Add powdered sugar 2 cups at a time, blending well after cup. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.  Once all the sugar is added, beat on medium speed for 5-7 minutes. Around minute 4 or 5 you’ll notice your buttercream getting very fluffy which means you’re almost there. Add 1-2 tbsp cream or milk if your frosting is too thick. The icing shouldn’t be too stiff. To determine, pull the beater out of the buttercream. It needs to slightly shift or slowly fall off the beater. If it barely moves you’ll need to add some liquid & beat for another minute.

Are you still sitting here?  GO!  Make the cake!