What If your house ? What If size of family ?

                       

    Everyone has dreams of how they think there life with turn out . But I was thinking, do you know , how or why things happened in your life? Or did your life go exactly as you thought when your were a teenager. A great example, during high school you planned on owning a convertible in blue with a roof that goes up and down. Plan on moving with your girlfriend to NYC to have a apartment and go to work there.

But in actually, as the years went  by  things changed in your life. Molding you into the person you are today. With all the ups and downs, some planned on your own behalf and things that just didn't work out.

    How many of us have thought about living in the big house down the street with the picket fence ?
Now how many of us really have that house with the picket fence and the sky high mortgage ? If you had to do it again would you pick that same house ? Or would you have chosen the other house you were looking at that was about 1,200 square feet vs the picket fence and big house and 2,000 square feet.

When we are younger we are naive to cost of things. But has we hit high school and college we see the value of them. No matter , how something maybe ...

While in high school, you often thought .... Hmmmm I wonder how many kids I will have with Prince Charming.. or AKA your boyfriend. When I was younger, I had thought about at least having 1 child.  But with life, everything comes with many challenges , emotional and more. So even trying to have kids can take a lot of time.  But once it happens your so happy ! And as they grow, you often wonder hmm maybe we should have another. Having BABY FEVER !!! 

Having a child through birth or adoption is a thrilling journey ! I give all you readers a High FIVE  for taking this journey . To those who haven't decided , you still have time ! Things work out for a reason one way or another... Maybe it planned out that way or just worked out that way.... 

I am glad to have a wonderful husband , who takes care of my family and I. Two beautiful kids, and a place to live. Though we may not have big house with the picket fence. I know that one day I will have the home of my dreams. So even though it didn't happen for me right now.  I know there still time, so for now I will embrace my family and just take it one day at time. 

Product Review : Seventh Generation Free & Clear Wipes

                                         

I received Free & Clear Wipes by Seventh Generation to sample and provide a review of this item. My first child has always had sensitive skin. I thought this product would great as we were going to  have  another child.

During the first few uses, we noticed it left no reaction to her skin. But during the next few days her skin was starting to get red and irritated. Other than, my daughter having issues with her skin. I did find that these were thick  and great wipe. Just not the wipes that I would use. I know that each child has different reactions to new products. Also my family does have skin sensitives to certain products for us this is one. 

But I would recommend these to any families that do no have skin allergies or reactions to different brands of wipes.   

To find near you : http://www.seventhgeneration.com/baby-wipes

Product information : 

Free & Clear Baby Wipes work gently with plant-derived ingredients.

• Free of alcohol, fragrances & dyes
• Free of parabens and phthalates 
• Hypoallergenic
• Thick, strong and generously-sized

Recipe : Mussel Meat with Garlic Sauce with Linguine Pasta

               

                             

My Version

Recently, we have a family friend visit and we have a mussel meat meal. I took a few notes about how she prepared the meal. And when I made my version of it . I used a 2 of the tricks she showed me. 

I was looking for a recipe on how to make mussel meat in a garlic sauce. I found the LazyPasta.com. Here is my version of this meal. Original recipe is below.  

What you will need :

2 Pound Bag of Mussel Meat ( Frozen) 

Wondra ( Thickening Powder )

Linguine Pasta  ( Ronzoni I used ) 

Dried Parsley ( if you have fresh you can use that as well )

White Wine or White Wine with Lemon

Lemon Juice 

Salt  & Pepper

 Garlic - 3 heads

Olive Oil

How to Prepare it : 

1. Thaw out your frozen Mussel Meat leave in package til ready to cook.
2. Heat pan with olive oil and sliced or minced garlic. Let the garlic brown
3. Add mussel meat only to pan 
4. sprinkle some lemon juice on mussel meat
5. Continue to cook on Medium heat and mix everything around
6. Add salt and pepper 
7. Add 1/4 Cup of White Wine or White Wine with lemon ( For more sauce you can double the amount of wine ) Be sure to cook off wine taste to meal.
8. Sprinkle dried parley all over the mussel meat mixture in pan.  
9. Add Wondra in pan and mix around to help thicken up the meal til you reach the thickness you like. Be sure to taste your sauce along the way. 
10. Boil Water in separate pan with salt  , wait til it comes to boil . Add pasta and cook for 8 minutes for Al Dente Pasta.  
11. Drain pasta after cooked , sprinkle olive oil . 
12. Serve Up in your favorite bowl or plate. 
13. DON'T FORGET that yummy sauce. 

I hope you will enjoy this meal as much as my family and I did. 

Here is the recipe I found prior to composing my changes as listed above : .lazypasta.com

If you have never heard of Wondra. Here is a link to view and learn more about it : http://www.walmart.com/ip/Wondra-Quick-Mixing-All-Purpose-Flour-13.5-oz/10311367

  

My Experience : Breast Feeding ... Eat Local... Bond with Mother and Child... Formula.....

                                           

During my most recent pregnancy , I thought it would be great to try breastfeeding. My husband had wanted me to go that route with our first child but at that time I never did any research and was prepared that. She was only formula fed. Now with our second child, I did lots of research.

I found +Facebook groups so that I could learn from others. And take there knowledge with me and we are already a month into breastfeeding and I am still learning. I purchased a book from +Amazon.com that  was  Great Expections : The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding.   I really found this book to very useful, as it touches on the correct way to breastfeed, as well information about Thrush and other matters. 

This really was a eye opener for me , as I was so many things I didn't know when I had my first daughter.  I read a few chapter's into the book above. Before baby girl wanted to arrive early. But with the basic knowledge I gained from my mom and her friend. As well as reading this book I was able to grasp the c- shape while breast feeding. 

Our second daughter decided to arrive about 3 weeks, We are latching really well, and she does fall sleep. But the best news is that she gaining a lot of weight. I am not a fully breastfeeding at this time. Possibly eventually I will just focus on that. But I am most worried about her continuing to gain weight so she is getting breast milk as well as formula.

Apart of being a breast feeding parent, I have also been pumping with my electric breast pump and manual breast pump. It is a great way to save some milk for milk baths if it goes bad. To help feed your baby when your sick. When you are pregnant you can get a script from your OBGYN. And you get a free electric breast pump. This is a quicker way to get your breast to remove excess milk and bring up your hind milk.  

During the first weeks , her poor toes were always getting blood withdrawn. For NJ state test they do which requires 5 blood samples. And with numerous tests to check for Jaundice , our poor baby has been though it all.  We had to be the in hospital for the UV light to help clear her Jaundice. 

Through the breast feedings and lots of bonding and doing skin to skin we are so close.   I had always hoped that I would have this bond with our child. With my first, I suffered postpartum . And it took a long time to get out of that.  

But for now , I just wanted to share my experience with breast feeding and the great book that I found helpful.