Tasty Tuesday- Time saving tips

Now that I have started back to work, getting dinner ready and on the table when I get home quickly is key.

Having certain ingredients prepared ahead  a good idea.  Bell Peppers cut up freeze really well.

Quick and Easy Fajitas
Frozen chicken ( cooked or uncooked) cut into strips
1-2 Bell Peppers cut up
1/2 onion cup up in strips.

Have it all frozen together and dump into a frying pan on low heat.  In about 20 minutes everything should be unfrozen and chicken if  it wasn't cooked, it will be cooked.  Add  Fajita seasoning and dinner is done.

Frozen grated cheese also freezes well.  Frozen cheese isn't great to just eat, but it works great in lasagnas and casseroles.Bricks of cheese also freeze well, but they are very crumbly so again they are only good for use in casseroles.

The crockpot is a very handy tool.  I love being able to throw in a bunch of ingredients in the morning and coming home to a warm yummy smelly meal at night.

First week

Although I do not start back to work till Monday, Benjy started at dayhome this past week.  I am so glad that I did this so we could figure out how to get our morning routine done.  It is very different having two adults getting ready then having two adults and a baby getting ready.

The goal is for me to up by 6 am so I can start to get ready.  Benjy has decided 5 am is a better time.  I have not had an issue with us both being ready to go out the door at 8.

Somethings that makes our morning go smoother are that I just need to get Benjy dressed.  All his diapers, food, and extra clothing are already at the sitters in a plastic storage shelf.  I have also started to freeze my breast milk so I can bring several frozen bags over and she can thaw them out as he needs it.  I also bring over the clean wetbags and diapers every few days after I have done laundry.

When I drop him off, he cries, but each day it has gotten less and less each day.  He is comfortable with the sitter so I am glad that we slowly introduced him over a course of a few weeks.  I would go to her house and play with him for an hour or two.  Then after a few days of that, I started to slowly leave for a little while.  Then we did two morning of 8-12.  He has not always had great days, but overall things are going well.

He refuses to drink BM while at the sitters.  She mixes the milk with his cereal and he will take it that way.  He will drink a bit of water during the day.  He does nurse well before he goes, and then nurses when I pick him up.  He does eat solids well.  He will have cereal, fruit, and a mixed veggie with meat at lunch.

I was most worried about naptime as with me he nurses to sleep.  Thankfully, she has an old stroller and will rock him back and forth and he will fall asleep for a while in it.  I did bring a playpen over as well, but he is not quite ready to sleep in that.

When I pick him up at the end of the day, I grab his wetbag with dirty diapers.  I dump the diapers into the pail when I get home.  I also get lots of kisses and hugs.  He is very happy to see him mommy.

First Years Newborn to Toddler Reclining Chair Review

Benjy has started to eat solid food with gusto.  It took a while, but he finally eats regularly so we have been getting a lot of use out of our highchair.  There are lots of highchairs on the market.  Some are freestanding, clip right to the table, or attach to a chair.  When we went out to purchase a highchair we looked at all the different options.

For price and convenience we opted for one that attaches to a chair.  We bought a First Years one.  It has many features including being able to recline and two different high levels.  It has a 3 point harness and is very easy to clean.

I have used highchairs with a 5 point harness and honestly I don't see the need for it.  It seems like another thing that will just get dirty.

The First Years chair comes with a cloth cover that is very easy to throw into the machine and no matter what is stuck to it or smeared on it has come out clean.  Benjy is a messy eater though so lately I have been leaving the cloth cover off of it.  There are no sharp pieces on the chair so it does not look funny without the cover.  It is solid plastic underneath so it makes it much easier to clean.

One feature I like about the chair is that is has a little bump between his legs which helps to keep him in the chair more securely.  I have another chair for the babysitters house that does not have that bump and he tends to slide down in that one.

It attaches very easily to the chair.  We were not able to use one of our kitchen chairs though as the back of ours curves and the back of the highchair is straight.  We had another chair I have in my sewing room with a straight back and attached the high chair to that one.  It has straps that attach to the back and bottom of the chair.

1.5 months old in the reclined position

Another great thing about this chair is that it is easily portable.  It does not fold down though, but it is still small enough it could be easily taken over to grandma's or a friends house.

Overall I really like this chair that we purchased.  It has a great price point as well.  I think we paid $39.99 at Walmart for it.  It is a solid well made chair and it has lasted well so far.  I would definitely recommend it to others.


These are my own opinions and I have not been paid to say this.  I bought this chair with my own money.