Saturday, April 30, 2011

Re-Re-Review!

Alright Friends, it's Saturday again and time for me to show you a few of my favorite things! I know I skipped last Saturday it's because my mommy brain made me forget :( But alas, it's a new week and I'm not forgetting this time!

First up; My favorite coffee place. Now a lot of you know already that with nursing Risto, I can't eat dairy. I used to frequent Starbucks because their coffee frapp was to die for, but after they changed the recipe, me not being able to eat dairy or soy I had to go in search of coffee house alternatives.

INTRODUCING....... THATCHERS!
Conveniently located across the parking lot from my favorite store Cotton Babies, Thatchers is THE BEST COFFEE in the greater Vancouver/Portland area. For real. Because of Risto's intolerance to dairy and soy, I gave up on being able to have coffee outside of my own home with lactose free creamer. Thatchers offers HEMP MILK for the lactose intolerant. I am so hooked on hemp milk. It has such a great flax taste and mixed into Thatchers hot chocolate or honey vanilla latte... I DIE (rachel zoe quote). Get down there and try it out. PS, their granola is insanely good.


Second up; Ginger Pop! It too is in the same shopping center as Thatchers and Cotton Babies (can you tell I'm done there a lot?) It's Thai food in a hip/modern style diner. It's the first time I've gone to a Thai resturaunt and been brave enough to try something other then Chicken Pad Thai, although I don't remember what I ordered (mommy brain) I do remember it was fantastic. Oh wait! I ordered Coconut noodles. Just thinking about them makes me hungry. SOOOOO GOOOOD.

So, grab a coffee before checking out Cotton Babies and if you're like me, you'll be hungry for lunch by the end of your visit so hop on over to Ginger Pop and enjoy!

Til next time!

Friday, April 29, 2011

I really don't know what to write! I've been so busy lately so it's hard to find a place to start! Between Risto being sick, me getting sick trying to deal with my PPD and discovering I also have mild PTSD (that's a post for another day) I just haven't had time to gather my thoughts into something even slightly intellectual... or readable for that matter.

Anyways, I'm starting up again tomorrow with reviews of some things I've discovered lately that I love! Look forward to it

Friday, April 22, 2011

Easter Crafts With Tiny Hands

My cute little buddy Averie came over today and we made ourselves an Easter craft. I found this cute little idea here
They were really fun and very cute and Averie had a blast! I won't post a picture of her because I didn't ask her mommy's permission, but I will post our creation! I changed the recipe and used chocolate/vanilla to make the birds nest seem more nesty.
Cheers and enjoy!




Oh yeah, and I made "brown eggs" with the left over rice krispie treats. Yum



Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Recipe Time! - EDIT




Picture Worthy?? I think so.
I'll update with a picture later, but for now I thought I'd share my favorite banana bread recipe with you all! In an effort to eat healthier I've been cooking with whole wheat, milled flax seed, apple sauce and honey. Our baked goods are still just as tasty but we're aren't loading up on empty calories in white flour, cooking oil and white sugar. I add flax so we're getting extra nutrients, plus it adds such a nice flavor to anything really! Here's the recipe

2 cups of whole wheat all purpose flour. I use Bob's Red Mill Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (I never have any actually)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups of mashed ripe banana's (about 5 medium)
1 cup of honey
1/2 cup of applesauce (in replacement of cooking oil)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease up that favorite quick bread pan
In a large bowl mix up your flour, baking powder/soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Make a well in the center and hold off on doing anything else

In another bowl mash up those naners and add egg, applesauce and honey. Stir until moist, it will be lumpy.
Pour that into your "well" and stir it up! I add however much flax seed as I feel like, tonight it was 2 literal spoonfuls of Hodgsons Milled Flax Seed
I'm the same way with my blueberries, I just dump in as much as I like, but I'm pretty sure I added about a cup. Trevor bought me raw almonds from Winco in bulk foods and I put those in my slap chop until they were at my desired size, mixed it up with coconut and topped off my bread.

It bakes for 55 minutes.
PS - I'm testing the raw almond/coconut top. At about 25 minutes in the oven they were a beautiful color, but I'm not sure if it'll end up burnt yet. With my second batch (this recipe makes 2 pans of bread) I'll wait until the bread has been in for 30 minutes and then add the topping.

EDIT - so some of the almond/coconut topping DID burn, but it came off very easily and left behind a beautifully crunchy coconutty topping! I baked both loaves the same, they were awesome.

I'll post pictures of both loafs! Oh, PS... don't forget to share :)

Monday, April 18, 2011

Advice from Seasoned Mama's

I've been getting some of the best advice from more seasoned Mama's then myself. Seasoned meaning woman who have 2+ children, not women who are in their 50's so if I mention your name don't be offended I called you seasoned! You mama's aren't well done just yet :)

I've been super stressed and worried and exhausted lately not knowing why Risto has been sick for so long and some of my friends and family have been telling me the sweetest or most encouraging things and I know I'm not the only Mama in the world who needs advice or pick me ups so I wanted to share.

1 - My sister in law, Jolene, took me out this evening. She is a LIFE SAVER and I need to start taking people up on their offers to watch Risto or to take me to coffee or something. I'm realizing I do need time away even if just for an hour. Anyways she told me a quote from a book she and my BIL read.

"A well rested baby rests well"
Just because Risto is exhausted doesn't mean when he hits the pillow (or mattress, he actually doesn't have a pillow cause he's a little guy still) he's getting the best sleep. His needs have changed recently and I need to change his schedule accordingly.

2 - My friend Noelle has been so encouraging lately and I'm so thankful to have her in my life! She's offered more then once to take my sweet little Risto for an hour or so even though she has a little one 5 weeks younger then Risto. I should take her up on that and afterward I can ask her if she's glad she didn't have twins! One of my favorite things she said, and I'm gonna start doing this, is simple.

All Mama's need a break at some point, even if just for an hour. It's important for our sanity.
This is loosely translated, but she's so right! We do need time away. I came back from my outing with my SIL feeling SO refreshed! I'm ready to take on the week. I never knew how important an hour away from home could be. I'm going to start saying yes more to peoples offers to watch him or to hang out.

3 - My friend Jenna has just the sweetest heart. She's sending me a book called Battlefield Of The Mind by Joyce Meyers. With my struggle to find normal emotions and having PPD she's been so encouraging with her words and her prayers over me. She's been amazingly supportive of my decision to seek God with my PPD and treating it naturally. She's encouraged me so much through it and I'm so thankful for her!

I know there's more, I've had so many supportive people but my exhaustion is creeping up on me and a cup of tea, a bubble bath and my bed sound like just the ticket! Thank you ladies. You all know who you are and if you think you MIGHT be one, you are! I love you women so much and I'm so thankful to have so many seasoned Mama's to turn to when my world seems upside down

Sunday, April 17, 2011

My Sweet Risto Baby

Just got done reading Risto's birth story. It took so much to get him here, but I couldn't be happier.



GIVEAWAYS!!

So I'm jumping on the giveaway band wagon!! I'm in the works with someone who's rather popular in my circle and she makes the cutest things. Can't give it away yet because she hasn't accepted (or probably even read) my offer yet, but be excited!! In the mean time if you're following this blog go LIKE my FB "fan" page so you can get updates on giveaways, not just from me but from some of my favorite products! Anyways, my amazing husband is back from his weekend away and I miss him, so a cuddle sesh. is in order!


Jasmines Mediocre Life
^^^CLICK ME

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Review Board


So I decided to start writing "reviews" of things I've stumbled upon lately! This is for anyone who's interested in some of the things I'm doing or finding, to help give others an idea of products I love so you can check them out yourself. I'll do this every Saturday, so keep an eye out for these updates. It'll include things like my new favorite hot spots, products and companies.
Today I'll be reviewing Flip Diaper Systems and Gnon a by product from the creators of Sophie The Giraffe.

Can I just say, I LOVE cloth diapering! I'm actually pretty bummed out I didn't do this as soon as Risto was born, but circumstances didn't allow us to take the plunge. Now that we're ready, I've found a great diaper in Flip! It's a product from my new favorite store Cotton Babies and I actually found out that this along with bumGenius and Econobum are actually made by Cotton Babies and have won multiple awards. If you're interested in cloth diapering, Cotton Babies is a great place to start. The women in store are very knowledgeable plus with a weighted "baby" you can get a feel for what the diaper will look and feel like on your little one. I couldn't be happier with our decision to put Risto in cloth and he loves it as well! And for those of you thinking you couldn't hand the occasional poopy mess, it's actually a lot easier to handle then a sposie!


Now onto Risto's new favorite buddy, Gnon! Gnon is a great little chewy toy made from natural rubber and vegetable based dye so it's completely safe for teething babies to gnaw on. Gnon is a lot more squeaky then his big sis Sophie the Giraffe so if you don't like noisey toys (or you have a dog that would steal this little guy from baby), I'd stick with the traditional Sophie. If you have a kid like mine who is attracted like a magnet to obnoxious things, Gnon is the way to go. The way Risto lights up and laughs, I don't even mind! Check out these products!

Flip Diapers
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Cotton-Babies-Vancouver-WA-store/153342188044171


Gnon Chew Toy
http://www.sophiegiraffeusa.com/chan-pie-gnon.html

Thursday, April 14, 2011

No More Sposies!!


Well we did it! Or almost it. We bought a package of the flip diaper system today at a great little shop called Cotton Babies. I've been in once before to talk about cloth diapering and getting started and I just fell in love with this product. The great thing about Cotton Babies is they have a weighted doll for you to play around with, so we were able to "cloth" a "baby". LOVE!!

I was also able to get Trevor to try on a Baby Hawk Mei Tai carrier (which he loved) and we are well on our way to having yet another baby carrier! I feel so accomplished. No more regrets on chickening out. NO MORE SPOSIES!!!!

Also BTW, everyone go check out Ginger Pop off of highway 14. It's AMAZING Thai food. The coconut noodles... AMAZE!


Cotton Babies Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Cotton-Babies-Vancouver-WA-store/153342188044171

Flip Cloth Diaper Website
http://flipdiapers.com/

Baby Hawk Website
http://www.babyhawk.com/


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Regrets

This is my beautiful son, Risto. I love him with every fiber of my being and I honestly believe no one can understand God's true love for us unless you've become a parent. This baby is a major part of my world. I'm blessed, but I can't quite get past my feelings of regret.

That's a bit misleading. I don't regret having him at all. I regret not putting him in cloth diapers! I never intended to put Risto in sposies. His sweet little tush was designed for clothies! I originally had Trevor all on board for cloth but when we didn't get any at my baby shower (not complaining, we were VERY blessed) we had to put those plans on hold. I was so disappointed to have to put him in sposies, but what are you gonna do.

Fast forward to tax season. We had decided to use some of our taxes (back in December) to buy up his supply of cloth. Well by now I think we're both so used to sposies that it's hard for Trevor to want to make the switch! I'm all on board, ready to go! I'm home all day most days anyways and what is a few extra loads of laundry?? Think of the money we'll save!!!

Anyways, I'm just feeling a little disappointed we didn't take the plunge, but we are taking a cloth 101 class next wednesday night and I'm hoping to change Trevor's mind! A great resource if you're interested is Cotton Babies. They have amazing women who work there that can answer any questions you have, plus the shop is super cute!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cotton-Babies-Vancouver-WA-store/153342188044171

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Re-discovering me

In an effort to curb my PPD naturally, I've started a journey to re discover ME! I was advised to take each day one at a time. To start fresh and forget about my worries, fears, doubts or anything else negative from the previous day. I've had to remind myself of that several times today already, but it's working. I do feel better, more energetic and happier. Even if just for today. It's encouraging to know that I can feel like my old self! I've recently become real big on healthy baking. Trevor and I love pastries so much but they have so many empty calories, sugar in amounts no one person should consume with ingredients most people can't pronounce. I'm learning new ways to bake our favorite treats in a way that wont be damaging to our bodies. Another reason I'm doing this is because Risto deserves a healthy family and to have a good shot at making healthy life choices. We're his biggest influence, you know. I've started replacing oils with applesauce and I've traded in that pesky white flour for whole wheat. Eggs? Who needs them! 1 TBS of Flax Seed mixed with 3 TBS of water has just as much protien as an egg(among other things). What do I do about sugar you ask? Honey! I'd love to use Agave Nector, but I'm a little intimidated. Now when I eat a blueberry muffin, I don't worry about the empty calories. I can eat slice after slice of banana bread knowing that everything inside is fresh and natural. The way God intended our food to be! Anyways, in doing this I think I've decided to start selling my yummy baked treats for others who are wanting to make healthier decisions, but can't seem to find the time or energy to do so. I'm currently in LOVE with baking healthy treats for my cute little family, so why not share the love! So far I've only done muffins, cookies and breads, but I'm going to start doing danishes as well, opting for fresh organic fruits instead of jarred over processed fruits on steroids. No unncessary syrups here. Oh did I mention I don't use milk either? I use Rice milk. And if I can find it I'll use Hemp milk which is so chalk full of nutrients, you'll feel quilty if you don't use it in all of your recipes. Posting some links to my favorite things, including a couple resources for dealing with PPD. If you'd like me to bake you some healthy treats, email me! violette.jasmine@gmail.com www.postpartum.net www.livingharvest.com

Scout and Belly Buttons

Scout's bedtime music has been a recent life saver in my home. If you have a baby that's hard to put to sleep right now, take out your Scout or Violet dolls, turn on the bed time music (5 minutes does the trick in our house) and enjoy the shows you've had on your dvr for weeks!

http://www.target.com/LeapFrog-My-Puppy-Pal-Scout/dp/B001W30D2O

Hope the link works, but it's worth every penny of that $15.

Also, I've recently decided that a babies belly button is the black hole of their entire body. I was in a panic to see my son's belly was BLACK only to find the tummy I thought I cleaned so well had gathered enough lint to knit myself a sweater. Gross

I'll spare you a picture of the the things I found in Risto's sweet little tummy, just now that it ain't pretty!

Monday, April 11, 2011

This Is It


Side note; Look how cute my baby is










No I'm not watching the Micheal Jackson movie. Quick off topic though, did anyone else find it terribly counterproductive that he did a whole concert mostly about being helpful to the environment and had millions of dollars of pyrotechnics? I sure did.

What this is really about is me calling my doctor in the morning. My PPD symptoms are getting worse and although I'm still trying to handle this naturally, I'm starting to realize I need to at least get my foot in the door in case I need something more. This gives me anxiety. Talking (or writing) about this. I still have a slight fear that someone will call CPS and Risto would be taken away from me. Ugh.... this is hard!

I'm realizing that Risto isn't currently getting the mommy he deserves and I miss being the mommy I was before I started feeling "down". Prayers for me would be awesome. I need peace about the possibility of being put on medicine.



Sunday, April 10, 2011

Adventures In Breastfeeding

Let me just say, I love breastfeeding. I wouldn't trade that bonding experience with Risto for anything in the world. I love that when nothing else soothes him, my milk can soothe him. I love how he tries to "eat" my shirt randomly through the day. I love when he places his tiny little hand on my boob and rubs my side with his other tiny little hand. I love that he wants to hold my hand while nursing and I love that I can still kiss the top of his head.

You'd think after 4 months I'd be a nursing pro but we're always learning together what our separate nursing needs are. I've heard of and seen pictures of women nursing their babies while laying down, and quite frankly I thought it looked like a bit of a nightmare! I'm terribly uncoordinated nursing Risto on the bobby pillow without trying to toss in laying down! And don't even get me started on the nursing cover, that is currently QUITE the pain in the tush.

I've been reading a blog I LOVE called The Sparkle Mama (heres a link to her FB page - http://www.facebook.com/thesparklemama). I love how brave she is to actually post pictures of her nursing her beautiful little girl and it inspired me to try nursing Risto at night while we were both laying down. It was such a great experience. Risto loved it. I loved it. I was able to stay partially asleep and so was R. I also noticed he didn't suck down nearly as much air as he usually does. It was nice to not have to pick him him up and twirl him around to nurse on the other side and all the picking up and moving around. It was so natural and easy!

Anyways, be brave and bold ladies and don't be afraid to try new things with your little ones no matter how strange or uncomfortable or awkward you think it may be!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

I haven't been posting often lately, mostly because I'm busy. Busy trying to pretend like I don't have PPD. I keep saying I have baby blues, but in all reality I am definitely experiencing post partum (sp?) depression. I don't want to do anything about it because I don't feel unattached from Risto... totally. I more just want to cuddle him, nurse him and nap with him, but if I'm being honest with myself, I'm also kind of ignoring him a bit too.

Don't go calling CPS (which is another reason I'm not doing anything about it, I'm scared someone will take him). He's a very independant little guy. He loves playing and exploring his little world, but sometimes I have a hard time tearing myself from tv or all the blogs I like to read to interact with him. This is hard. I feel like anyone reading this is going to misunderstand and think he's being abused or ignored or left alone, which isn't the case at all. I play with him a lot. We sing and read together. We copy each others faces and take tubs together. We partially co sleep and I hold his hand and hum him worship songs while he nurses.

I'm more just lacking in motivation to get off my tush and do things. My house is a disaster. Dishes are piled high, my bathroom could use a good clean and there is a basket of laundry in the hallway of my one bedroom apartment for about 3 weeks now.

I know I'll figure it out soon. I got some great tips to try and curb this naturally on my own, so hopefully Monday will be a fresh start and I can slowly start to get things back together. In all honesty, I'm not sure I would have had the courage to write this if it weren't for a friend who recently spoke about her own issues with PPD. I wont call her out, but I appreciate (and needed) to hear that I'm not alone in this. I guess that's part of why I'm writing it out here, but I'm hoping no one actually reads this.

That's kind of it

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Water Blessings

There is no doubt in my mind I have a water baby. He loves the tub and aside from that, I often put his hands or feet in running water to soothe him when he's upset. I didn't realize how much he loved whatever until I bathed with him today. I know, dangerous, right? I debated writing about this because I didn't want to get any "bad" mama flack for putting my 4 month old in a tub filled with water, but this experience with him was to amazing and special. I have to write it out.



If I drove to the coast right now and threw Risto into the raging ocean waters ( I promise I wont), he'd survive better then I ever could. I don't think I've ever enjoyed water so much in my life. But water with Risto is such a blessing. I originally had him on his back because I didn't want his face to close to swallowing bath water, as he undoubtedly peed in there numerous times. He wasn't having it. He rolled (almost out of my arms) onto his tummy and started kicking like his life, literally, depending on it. Arms going, feet going and his floppy little boy business swinging with the waves. I smile thinking of it.

Now this wasn't a 100% positive experience. No not because of all the baby urine, but because stupid me put bubbles in the bath so ever major swim move was greeted with a happy bubble chin faced little boy. He's probably the only baby I know of who doesn't mind water in his face and eyes. He thrives off it. Ok... I may have fibbed a bit here, there was a TINY bit of bubbles that got in his mouth, but he didn't seem to mind (terribly).

I gotta admit my arm and back hurt from the experience, but man was the work worth it! If you're brave enough, take a tub with your water baby. I did run a poop risk since he hadn't gone for his afternoon expulsion yet, so take that into consideration and enjoy!

Thanks Lord for my sweet water baby