Struggling SAHM

The "Stay At Home MOM"

 I hear so many mother's {or hope-to-be mother's some day} say they want to be one, and I'm sure there are some that honestly do without having a case of the 'grass is greener' because they happen to be working. "Oh to be able to have the time to teach your children and savor every moment as they grow!!" It definitely is amazing in those aspects, but is it for everyone? I can only answer if it is for me or not, and it may surprise you to know... it isn't.

Now don't get me wrong... I love my children, my family, and I'm grateful for everything we have. Life is amazing and we're blessed in more ways than I can count! The problem I'm having, is that I have daily internal struggles when it comes to a feeling of accomplishment. For those of you who have a job outside of the home and a family to come home to, I ask;

Do you have a sense of accomplishment at work?

Even if you are not working your "ideal" job, or don't make as much money as you'd like/need... Have you worked hard through college to attain the job you have now? Do you do something you enjoy? Do you have moments at work that make you feel like you've done something that deserves an 'atta boy' (or girl)?  Do you get to make people smile? Does your job involve helping people even if it is indirectly? Do you get any sort of praise even if it's every once-in-a-blue-moon (like from a boss or co-worker)? If so, you probably feel a sense of accomplishment at work.

When you're a SAHM like me, your day doesn't change very much on a regular basis. Since structure is a necessity for growing children (and for my own sanity) we stick to a basic schedule.

Our typical Day; (times vary of course but this is for visual sake)

6am - Addie's 1st Feeding
8am - Braedyn wakes
8:10am - Potty Braedyn
8:20am - Eat breakfast
9am - Change clothes/diapers
10am-11:30am - Activity/cleaning
Noon - Lunch/Feed
12:45 - Potty/diaper change
1pm- 3pm - Nap(mommy-time IF Addie sleeps)
3:10pm - Potty Braedyn
3:20pm - Snack
3:30pm- 5pm - Activity/Exercise
5pm - Prepare Supper
5:30-6pm - Eat/Feed
7pm - Ready for bed/Reading
8pm - Bedtime

  Sure we deviate from our usual activities and get to have fun filled play-dates, walks to the park, trips to see family, library book check outs, etc... but the reality is, your children are not typically going to turn around to you and say,

"Hey mom, I see that you really broke a sweat going up and down the stairs with 5 loads of laundry today while running after me and baby sister as lunch was baking before you could enjoy your "morning" cup of coffee this afternoon, and I just wanted to say I appreciate you!"

Now I'm not trying to be a "Negative Nancy" here... because my children also give me a lot of joy and an enormous amount of love more times than I can count in one day and I'm extremely proud to be their mother! What I am however getting at, is that this whole SAHM thing is really a very difficult thing to do. It's especially difficult if you have a perspective like mine. I wish that I felt the same sense of accomplishment being home every day teaching my children, as I would feel doing a specified "job" outside of the home where I was earning a paycheck... but I don't feel the same way about the two. I happen to be the type of person who feels I can be a better parent to my children when I have my own time outside of the house to work toward something that makes me feel accomplished.

 For example, I have gotten an immense amount of gratification from doing one of the most difficult and underpaid jobs out there (in my opinion)... care-giving. If I made one person smile during an 8 hour (or longer) shift on my feet running my buns off, I was happy to go home knowing that I made a difference in that person's day. I just have that need to feel like I'm making a difference in the world as well as my own home... and I'm sure I will find new ways of doing this as my own life takes it's twists and turns. In the future, I hope to be able to do a balancing act of working and being a good parent, but for now I will be making the best of life as it has happened. I just have to focus on the fact that I AM doing something amazing!  Being a SAHM is a very difficult job that just doesn't get the recognition that a job outside of the home gets most times.

The reality of my situation is that life in our family, wasn't planned this way... it happened this way. It's a miraculous and wonderful life that we share, but it's difficult... as it is for all of us grown-ups {wait, grown ups? ...when did that happen? :)}. What we are doing in our family, is exactly what everyone else is trying to do regardless of each of our different circumstances... get by to the next day; happy, healthy, and with an ounce of sanity. We're growing and learning with each mistake and new moment together. I'm so lucky to have an amazing man by my side, who helps me through it all, who I'm able to have great conversations with, who can turn my stubborn attitude around, and who I love more every day.

So here's to making the best of every day, and finding the happiness in life ... even when it doesn't go as you planned it. Everything happens for a reason. :)

This is my day-late party link up for Tuesday's "Help a momma out" :)

"Help A Momma Out Tuesday's" - Link up with J&M's Eye Candy!

It's that time again for J&M's Eye Candy's 

 "Help a Momma Out Tuesday!" 

This is  my personal blog which I like to keep separate from the kids' so that I have my own space :) 

Visit www.shortpants-littlemiss.blogspot.com for an "all-about the kidlets" page!

Read on to find out how you can put together a DIY pedicure party for that relaxation that you deserve! A pedicure, healthy dinner recipe, AND fun adult beverage recipe make for a great {and inexpensive} night in with the girls!
 Also, for tips on how to save money with babies and toddlers, make sure to read my first edition of 

 "SUPER Baby Food - Tips and More!"

I'm a little behind on new updates from the award winning book {Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron} but I'll be working on the second edition soon! Edition one has easy tips on how to save on the cost of wipes and diaper creams! 

Thanks for stopping in! :) ...and don't forget to 

VISIT J&M's Eye Candy on Etsy too!! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/jandmseyecandyshoppe?ref=ss_profile

Their shop is SUPER cute!!!

DIY Pedicure Night!!

Need a little pampering but don't feel like spending a quarter of your grocery bill on your feet? 

Have a DIY pedicure party! 

It's finally summer and most of us wouldn't mind sporting the sandals and flip flops

BUT 

I took a look at my feet and almost collapsed they were so hideous! 

Okay, not really... but they were VERY dry, cracked, nails were chipping, cuticles were overgrown, and my paint job that I 'touched up' the last five times just didn't have that professional look that I crave. :) 

My girlfriends and I have had a lot of our own at-home spa sessions in the past, so I have a good amount of supplies in stock. All I needed was a quick trip to our local dollar store and a little creativity to make this one even more like you're visiting a SPA!  

** Mel's Pedicure Spa **

So even though I've had a lot of pedicure nights in my past, this one was special because of the little added touches...

This is exciting because if you decide to do something like this on your own, you can create so many of your own personal touches just by finding things you already have around your home. For me, I like arts and crafts and always save things like tissue paper, ribbon, and gift bags. 

First I thought, how many people will be coming, and do I have the necessary supplies? I of course do not want people to use each other's pedicure tools, YUCK... so I made a quick run to the dollar store and picked up some cute, colorful, and inexpensive tools. I picked up foot files (I call it the 'cheese grater tool'), nail clippers that happened to be decorated in the shapes of little feet :), colorful toe separators, nail files, and a bag of Epsom salt in lavender scent. 

I wish I would have taken more pictures of how the little gifts turned out, but you'll get the general idea.

I put each set of tools into 4 plain white gift bags. Then I placed a small amount of Epsom salt in 4 small decorative bags cinched with ribbon and put them along with each set of tools in the bags. On the back of each bag I pinned a package of wild flowers with mini clothespins. I placed tissue paper inside and wrote a simple dictionary definition of 'spa-like' words on each bag in black marker. For example, I used the words Pamper, Relax, Rejuvenate, and Escape. Just something that simple can make a statement!

Next I rolled my most colorful towels up and placed them in a fun basket. ( I know at the spa you'd use white towels, but I thought it would be more fun to spice it up a bit! Plus I don't have more than one or two white towels haha)

Don't forget to CHILL a bottle of wine or your favorite and most relaxing beverage! 

I also organized my foot scrubs, lotions, heal creams, cuticle oil, etc... in a decorative basket and placed my nail polish colors and nail polish remover in another container. 

Above, you can see I also found a couple of different sized canning jars which I think add a nice touch instead of just having bags of cotton balls and cotton rounds lying out. You could also choose to add some ribbon to the rims of the canning jars for a little extra :) 

From previous spa nights with the girls, I do happen to have multiple tubs lying around for foot soaking. We actually bought them from the household cleaning sections of WalMart or Target since they are usually used inside your sink for washing dishes, but they served our purpose very well! 

Before we started pampering our feet however, we did eat a healthy dinner first! Since it was a blistering 87 degrees and humid I chose not to use my oven to bake chicken breasts. Here's my own made up recipe below;

Mel's Catalina Chicken

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts; thawed

1cup Kraft Light Catalina salad dressing

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

dash of salt

dash of pepper

1cup baby carrots

1/2 cup chopped red onion

Place all ingredients in crockpot, turn on low for 4 to 5 hours. Mix every 30 minutes to an hour. 

I served the chicken with carrots, salad & choice of dressing, grapes, and strawberries. After our tummies were satisfied, we filled our tubs with warm-hot water (based on preference), added our lavender bath salt, and SOAKED our feet! 

Oh and I almost forgot! I threw together a "sangria-like" drink based on what I had available and a delicious drink that Michelle made for us at a previous Glee night ;-) Thanks Michelle!! 

I took a 2 quart pitcher, filled a quarter of the pitcher with wine, a quarter with sprite, and the rest with a white grape juice. I also squeezed in fresh orange juice and threw in some thinly sliced oranges. After chilling for an hour it was perfect! For not having any recipes this day, I think it turned out well :)  

During our pedicures, we first soaked our feet and relaxed with some trashy TV ;-) then used a foot scrub. After rinsing off the foot scrub we used our grater tool on our heels and rough dry spots. There's also a fine end that's like a nail file to smooth the skin afterward. After grating, we used heel creams and super moisturizing lotions to massage into our feet. We cleaned up and clipped our nails, took off existing polish, and painted! It's so much fun to get together with some of your favorite girls to laugh, chat, eat, and pamper yourselves! 

Try this at home for an instant stress reliever!! 

As always, thanks for stopping by! Happy Summer :)

"SUPER Baby Food" - Tips and more! *edition one*

I'm starting a new edition to my blog because I'm SO excited about this new book I've been obsessing over! Thanks to a friend of ours, we got to borrow this wonderful book called, "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron (Thanks Jody!). It has a substantial amount of information for parents of babies and toddlers emphasizing on how make your own baby food. It teaches parents about nutrition at a whole new level with the chapter titled, "Nutrition 101; A crash course in nutrition". It does a great job of breaking down the information so you can better understand what foods to pair together and in what amounts to keep your kids eating well.


 In my opinion, this book not only educates parents on how to nourish your children with organic food for less, but it gives you the tools to teach your children right from the very beginning that it is incredibly important to eat well and lead a healthy lifestyle. It also has chapters where it gives recipes for baby-safe household cleaners and baby products which could save a substantial amount of money! I will choose a segment out of the book to share every week or so, and hope to add in pictures too :) 


I hope these tips can help your family live healthy and save money too! 

Our first focus this week is homemade baby products!!

So I'll be the first to admit that I am not up for trying cloth diapers... I would rather budget our money to be able to use disposable diapers and try to save money elsewhere. So instead, I am trying my hand at making my own baby wipes AND using alternatives to expensive diaper creams!

Homemade BABY WIPES;

For the liquid mixture;
two cups water
two tablespoons baby oil
two tablespoons of either baby shampoo or baby wash
a tablespoon or two of aloe gel squeezed from a houseplant (optional)
7-8 drops lavender oil (can be found at a natural food store) which also kills bacteria! (optional) Smells nice!

For the disposable baby wipes;
Cut a roll of paper towel in half with a sharp non-serrated knife (serrated knives will create a rough edge with bits of paper toweling all over). Use a strong brand that is more like cloth, for example, Kleenex Viva paper towels are strong and tend to be reusable depending on the mess. Bounty (plain white) quilted would also work. Remove the inside tube core with a pliers. Use one half roll of paper towel per batch. Place a half roll into a cylindrical container. Make two cups of the liquid mixture above, pour into container and cover. Turn upside down to saturate paper towels. Let sit about fifteen minutes.

Pull the first towel out from the inside of the roll. If you are re-using a wipes container that has the hole in the top, pull towel through top for easy access. If you are using a homemade container or Tupperware container, use a sharp knife to cut an X in the lid. Cut a little bit off of the inside corners of the X to make a small hole ensuring that the wipes will not shred. I'm using an empty formula container :)

If you are looking to use individual paper towels that come in stacks, (like the ones that come out of public restroom dispensers - the white ones though, not the brown 'paper-bag-like' ones) you may wish to order them from a restaurant or medical supply store.

The following link has white folded paper towels listed at $1.98 per pack of 150, but of course if you buy in higher quantities the price goes down significantly.
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/505/folded-paper-towels.html


So you could spend $13.69 for generic (Up & Up brand) wipes at Target and get 792 wipes. 

OR

You could spend $15.49 for a case of white multi-fold paper towels in stacks and get 4000 wipes out of it!! That's 5x more wipes than what you'd get buying generic Target wipes! Use the recipe above and place them in a re-usable rectangular wipes box with the pop-up lid for easy access and you're all set! 

Read on for more exciting tips!! 


For Diaper Rash;


This one surprised me! Do you have Crisco in your cupboard? It's not just for baking!! haha It works as a preventative barrier to wetness and acidity. Apply as soon as you notice your baby developing a diaper rash (which seems to happen much more in the summer months now too!). If the area is too tender to baby's touch, try applying it directly into the diaper instead for a painless application. 


Any breastfeeding mothers out there!? Did you know that your breast milk can also be applied to baby's diaper rash to soothe and clear up his or her skin? 


If you have an aloe house plant, you can squeeze a small amount out to apply to baby's bottom too!


Also, in a bath it works nicely to add a few tablespoons of baking soda to neutralize the acidity of the diaper rash and soothe baby's skin.

Potty training? Your toddler is bound to get diaper rash even without the diaper! Fill your bathroom sink with comfortably warm water and a few tablespoons of baking soda. Submerge a washcloth in the water, ring it out, and wipe your kidlet clean! This also helps get rid of the urine smell after accidents and between bathing! 


Thanks for stopping in to read the latest! Like I said, I'm not taking credit for these wonderful tips, but I am sharing them from an amazing book called, 'Super Baby Food' by Ruth Yaron. Stay tuned for more :) and be sure to comment with any questions or requests!

Make your own Frappes!!!

Do you love all of those name brand sweet and delicious blended iced coffee drinks out there but hate spending five or more dollars on ONE drink?! I think most of us can answer yes to the previous question (even for those of us who do not enjoy the taste of coffee!) So how in the world do you make something at home that tastes just as good and costs only a fraction of what you'd pay at Starbuck's or Caribou? Easy!

Here's what I made today:

Mel's Raspberry Mocha Light Frappé!

Now I do have to say, that I have a fantastic Mr. Coffee Frappe machine that I received as a gift from my grandparents, which makes this process one step easier. (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!) It brews the coffee into the blender and BLENDS away! ...and boy oh boy does it ever blend! (Those of you who have experienced this with me recently are probably having a chuckle since we were quite startled at it's power! haha) Here's the link to this product if you happen to be interested in one:

http://mrcoffeestore.com/detail/COF+BVMC-FM1&trk_src_ss=COFFGS49WEBPAYPC%7CPPC%7CADW%7Cmr%20coffee%20frappe%20maker

However, if you do not have this fancy fandagled machine, this process is also very do-able! A little barista magic and presto; you can create anything! First decide what kitchen gadgets you have to work with...

 You may use an ESPRESSO MACHINE and a BLENDER: a shot or two of brewed espresso (depending on your taste) would be acceptable to add into a blender full of your desired ingredients (look further for recipes) making sure to add the espresso LAST and blend right away to achieve the correct consistency and avoid the shots turning bitter.

You may also choose to use a COFFEE MAKER and a BLENDER: For this, you will have to brew the coffee double strength. One recipe usually yields two small or one medium portion no matter what appliances you are using, so you don't even need half a pot. I would suggest brewing as small of an amount as your coffee pot will allow. If you have a 12 cup coffee maker, it most likely wont work to add only 1/2 cup of water to brew. If you have to brew more coffee than what you need, just remember that you should only be adding about 1/4 cup of double strength coffee to your blender for one drink recipe. 

 (If you have one of the ever popular "one-cup" coffee makers, brewing your cup at double strength would probably work out perfectly!) 

Here's the recipe for what I made today;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mel's Raspberry Mocha Light Frappé

For Brewed Coffee

3 tablespoons ground dark roast/espresso roast coffee

1/2 cup of water 

(alter amount of coffee and water depending on your coffee maker's size and capability)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contents of Blender

2 cups ice cubes

2 tablespoons sugar-free/calorie-free mocha syrup

fresh raspberries (about 6-8)

1/4 cup skim milk

In this order,

Place ICE in blender.

Add mocha syrup, 1/4 milk, and raspberries. 

Brew your double strength coffee. 

Add 1/4 cup double strength brewed coffee to blender.

Place cover on blender and frappé!

IMPORTANT; As soon as your coffee is finished brewing, place it into the blender and BLEND PROMPTLY to achieve the best consistency. Remember coffee is HOT so please be careful during transfer into blender. 

Pour into your favorite fancy glass with a straw and ENJOY!!! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is another recipe I have made in the past;

Mel's {Treat yourself} Caramel Frappé

For Brewed Coffee

3 tablespoons ground dark roast coffee/espresso

1/2 cup water

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contents of Blender

2 cups ice cubes

1/4 cup skim milk(or your choice) 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract(*or*1 tablespoon vanilla syrup)

2 tablespoons caramel dessert topping(*or* 1 tablespoon caramel syrup)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Place Ice in blender.

Add milk, vanilla, and caramel.

Brew double strength coffee.

Add 1/4 cup of brewed double strength coffee to blender.

Place cover on blender and frappé! 

IMPORTANT; As soon as your coffee is finished brewing, place it into the blender and BLEND PROMPTLY to achieve the best consistency. Remember coffee is HOT so please be careful during transfer into blender. 

Pour into your favorite fancy glass and top with whipped cream. 

Drizzle caramel dessert topping on whipped cream and add straw; ENJOY!!! :)

There are so many different recipes to choose from! If you are not into the sugar-free zero calorie taste ( I found mine in the organic food section of the grocery store), there are a wide variety of syrups available at grocery stores, Gordman's, www.starbucks.com, etc. Otherwise you may choose to use ice cream toppings like caramel and chocolate sauces! Get creative and add whipped cream, candy sprinkles, cinnamon, or nutmeg on top! All are delicious, so try your hand at becoming your very own barista today! You can make them strictly a treat or make a lighter version with less calories to suit your diet. It's SO much fun :) Any questions or new recipes? Feel free to comment and share!!!  

HAPPY SUMMER!!!!

Want to lose weight? Hold yourself accountable!

I for one have struggled with the typical roller coaster of habits when it comes to eating well in order to stay in shape and of course my scale reflects this. It's easy to justify what you'd like to eat as being acceptable even when deep down you know it's not the right option. "Well it's only a handful of potato chips, so it wont hurt..." but that 'handful' of potato chips that you're not really counting against you is really 160 calories per 1 OUNCE. If you're like me, you don't stop at one ounce either! haha... Before you know it, you've consumed an extra 500 calories!!  SO... look into how many calories you're eating.

You may think, "ugh...that's just too much work", but really it's right there for you on every label of everything you consume. Plus there are amazing tools out there that calculate your daily totals and so much more without you having to do any figuring. A friend of mine just invited me to use http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ who also has an amazing phone app available as a FREE download! Most people have their phone with them all of the time, so it's convenient to type in the food you've eaten and let them calculate for you! They have a huge database of brand name and generic foods already in their database but if for some reason they don't have what you are looking for it's very easy to add in a new food/drink/snack. It's also great that once you answer a few simple questions during setup, the site tells you exactly what date you should expect to see your goal weight and how many calories you should be consuming in your every day diet! It's fool proof :) Which is good for me haha!

Other features of http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ include;
Weigh-in tracking
Exercise tracking
Nutrition/Fitness/Progress Reports
BMI Calculator
BMR Calculator
Recipe Nutrition Facts Calculator
Heart Calculator
Large Community of Message Boards/Forums
Weight loss trackers and badges for blogging or other personal websites

AND one of the coolest parts of this site, is that you can invite your friends to join with you. This way, you get to share your progress and go through the inevitable struggles with people you know who can help motivate you to keep moving forward! Don't worry though, if you don't want anyone to see your food diary and would only like to share certain parts and pieces of your profile, you can set your privacy to show what you are most comfortable with on the website.

So who's up for it!? Join me today and see just how easy and motivating it is to make the best choices to better reach your fitness and healthy lifestyle goals! No matter how big or small your goals are, or if you would just like to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle this is a helpful site! Add me today! My profile name is; meloramma.  :) lol

How do you communicate?

Technology has changed the way we all communicate with each other these days... but is it for the best? I ask this for a lot of reasons lately, and I feel I'm seeing a whole new side of things since I'm taking this break from social networking in general. I have gotten passed the compulsive need to check my Facebook account the second I wake up, between loads of laundry, during play time, and as I'm falling asleep each night. It's interesting though when you're not so involved in everyone else's lives how you notice all of the references throughout your day like on television and in every day conversation. Besides the fact that there is so much of an obsession with it all, there isn't much harm in it all really (unless people are putting too much personal information out or just trying to be catty).

 What does concern me though, is the fact that communication between friends, relatives, work places, etc. seems somewhat compromised. At first glance, things like Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail are a wonderful way to keep in contact with each other especially when you may  not get the chance to see the people who are important to you on a regular basis. It's a great way to share the highlights of your life with those around you. However, do you notice that more people are "speaking" to each other using text, e-mail, Facebook and so on when it would be so much more effective just to sit down with someone and physically TALK either in person or over the phone if you must? Have we forgotten what it's like to sit down with a friend and have a conversation? There's so much more than words in communication that end up being misinterpreted or completely lost when we decide to communicate through technology. Have you ever gotten upset over a simple text message only to find that it wasn't intended the way you took it? Of course you have, we've all been there... and it's happening more and more.

 Let's take applying for a job as another example. More and more companies and businesses are resorting to online applications for all of their hiring needs for reasons of convenience obviously. However I think there's something to be said about a person who takes the time to walk into a potential workplace and start a conversation with a manager about the position they're applying for rather than just being another online applicant. I realize that this is not practical in every situation, but do you see how we are all sort of getting lost in technology lately? How can you really communicate with someone unless you make the effort to tell them how you feel and where you are coming from in person? Are emoticons taking over for our facial expressions? Are we relying too much on our fingers to do the talking through our keyboard? 

My hope is that I can have more real interactions in every day life from here on out. I love how easy it is to show my friends and family how big the kids are getting and what their milestones are, through things like e-mail and blogging but lets not forget the power of a real, in-person conversation when it comes to the important conversations in life. If one of my friends was upset with me, or I did or said something that made them upset in any way I sure hope they would call me up or sit me down and TALK to me. I know it's sometimes the difficult road to take.... to communicate in person, but it's so much more worth it and I know I personally appreciate it more than I can express. I haven't always been able to do this myself but as I grow and learn, I realize the importance of communication in every relationship I have. Plus, I always love a coffee date or a nice walk outside : )