Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day and it was a wonderful day. I celebrated with Brother Bear on Friday and yesterday Papa, Sister and I went to my parents for the day. It was a wonderful day and I feel so blessed to have such a great family. I had a friend lose his mother this year and seeing that loss and his pain makes me more thankful than ever for my mother, and my mother in law. We are so lucky they are here in our lives, healthy and close by.

Mothers often do not get the appreciation they deserve, and I know that now that I am a full time mom. It is hard work and it is a never ending job. But, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I worry all the time about Brother and Sister but I look forward to everyday with them. I love teaching them things and watching them grow. I love seeing their interests change and evolve. Sister is just starting to take interest in toys and it is so fun to watch her try so hard to get a toy that is just out of reach. Brother recently learned to ride his bike without training wheels and it was really one of the proudest moments thus far. His sense of accomplishment as he took off down the sidewalk all by himself was so amazing to see.

I love my children and my husband. As my mother always said,
"If it wasn't for your father
would your mother be your mother?
So remember dad on Mother's day"
Well I think I told Papa 100 times yesterday how thankful I am for him and how lucky we are to have him. I thanked him for making me a mom, first a step mom to Brother and now a mom to Sister. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have this fabulous family.

I loved Mother's Day and look forward to many more. I am forever a Mother now, nothing will ever change that.

Thankful Thursday

Lots of Mommy Blogs that I read do Thankful Thursday, I don't usually take part in these type things, but there is something I am thankful for right now (and it happens to be Thursday...) so here goes.....

I am thankful that the Red Wings won tonight. So thankful!! Go WINGS. We really needed this win and hopefully we can get another win Saturday night. Looking good boys :)

The Wedding

We moved into our house in September and I am sad and embarrassed to say we are still getting settled. Don't get me wrong, it is totally livable but there are some design details that are yet to be completed.

We need chairs for our dining room table, need a few bookcases and have not hung any pictures! Our walls are bare and it is starting to depress me.

I broke out some beautiful frames we were given as wedding gifts that match our china and have decided it is time to fill and display them. So that got me looking through our wedding photos. We got married in December 2008, so we have been married almost 18 months. It sort of seems like forever!! We have a baby now, a new house...lots has changed since our wedding day.

Looking at our wedding pictures brings back so many great memories. It was such a WONDERFUL day! We had such a great wedding, I know everyone says that about their own wedding, but really...ours was spectacular. Looking at the pictures also brings some sadness. We have lost some loved ones since that day, and although I know I was so blessed they were there to share the day with us, it still makes me sad to know they are not here to see our lives now.

Our wedding colors were black, white and silver. We did all white flowers, with black tablecloths, silver napkins and silver chiavari chairs with black chair pads.
The bridesmaids wore long, strapless black dresses with white sashes. We served an amazing dinner of a small fillet paired with two crab cakes, mashed potatoes and haricot verts. It was delicious!!!! Our cake was simple, white with black accents.

I have not fully decided which pictures I will choose for the frames, but I want to share some photos from that day with you. Please post about your wedding and leave me a comment to check out your special day. I love love love weddings and love looking at pictures from weddings.

Cavans Press photo on canvas giveaway

Head over to the Momma Maven for an amazing giveaway! She is giving away a photo canvas. This is so exciting....

Ergo Baby Carrier Giveaway

Check out www.bestbabyorganics.com for an awesome giveaway!!! I have heard wonderful things about the Ergo Baby Carrier and they are giving one away! Check them out and enter to win. Good luck!

Papa Bear and Brother Bear are out to get me!!

Brother Bear has wanted a dog forever. He actually wants two dogs. We have been holding him off for a while. For the past year we were able to use the excuse that we couldn't get a dog because the baby was coming. Well now the baby is here, and Brother is not stupid. That could only mean one thing, right?? Dog time!!

Well I have to say, I now have ZERO interest in getting a pet. Although I think dogs are cute and seem fun, they also seem like a lot of work. Sort of like a baby is a lot of work. And we already have a baby....

So for some reason Papa Bear is all the sudden very interested in getting a dog. So now I have both him and Brother Bear breathing down my neck about this dog thing. I think I can hold them off for a while, I'm just not sure how long.

About 2 years ago I really wanted a dog. If we would have just done it then it would be totally different. The dog would already be here, trained and we would be used to life with a dog. I don't have the time or the energy to worry about a dog and it's effect on my house or my schedule.

I guess what I am saying is this...if you are considering getting a dog, get one before you have kids. Establish a life with a dog, get used to each other, get the dog trained. Then have a baby, or two, or three. OR....have kids, then wait until they get older (old enough to help) and then get a dog. We are in neither of these boats, in my opinion our only option is to wait until the kids are older, more independent and able to help if needed. Getting a dog right before, or after having a baby seems like a terrible idea. At least for my family.

For what it is worth, if we were to get a dog, I would REALLY REALLY love a mini golden doodle!!!!!!

5 Things About Us

At the suggestion of a fellow Michigander, Because I Said So,

I am going to do a '5 Things About Us' post to get you better acquainted with our family.

Mama Bear
1. I work part time for my dad
2. My favorite color is orange and a lot of people think that is weird
3. Hockey is by far my favorite spectator sport
4. I love my Kindle and read tons of books, but honestly, they are almost all "chick lit", I just love a book that doesn't require a lot of effort
5. My dream is to live on a sailboat in the Caribbean

Papa Bear
1. A very hard worker, very dedicated to his job and never says "no" to anyone at work
2. An excellent father, I never worry about leaving the kids with him
3. Very casual, jeans, t-shirt and ball cap everyday. It has to be a special occasion for even a polo shirt usually
4. Loves electronics, he would get every new phone, computer, TV, etc. that comes out if I would let him
5. Loves to shop

Brother Bear
1. Loves to ride his two wheeler and play all sports
2. Relates better to older kids, usually plays with kids 2 years older than he is
3. Obsessed with anything transportation related (cars, trucks, trains, buses, etc.)
4. Loves Michigan State and hates Michigan (I went to MSU, Papa to UM). He made this decision all his own. He can spot Tom Izzo and Sparty in commercials and goes nuts when he sees them
5. Loves to dress himself and usually picks the same pair of too short sweatpants that we always make him take off, but he won't let us get rid of them

Sister Bear
1. Started sleeping through the night at 7 weeks (8 hours) and 12 hours at 17 weeks
2. Loves her brother and laughs whenever she sees him or hears his voice
3. Loves the bath tub and is always trying to get drops of water in her mouth
4. Hates socks and rubs her feet together like a cricket when she has them on to try to get them off
5. Had lunch with 4 Red Wing players when she was 7 days old, and slept the whole time

This was fun and harder than I thought it would be!! I wanted to put interesting things and it took me a few minutes to think of good stuff. I will challenge readers to do this as well and please leave me a comment with your blog address so I can learn more about you!!

Sleeping Arrangements

Since before Sister Bear was born I knew that I wanted her to sleep in our room, but also get used to her crib. At first Papa Bear wasn't too interested in her staying in our room but he changed his mind before she arrived. Our room is upstairs and hers is down, it didn't seem safe to be trudging up and down the stairs a few times every night. We registered for a wonderful pack'n'play and received it. It is so awesome. It has a changing table attached as well as what they call a newborn napper, where she can sleep while she is tiny.

When she was just home from the hospital, she pretty much napped wherever. In our arms, on the boppy next to us on the couch were the most popular places. She slept in the newborn napper and was a great sleeper from the start.

At about 2 months she napped more in the swing and less in our arms. We would put her to bed in the swing and take her upstairs with us when we went to bed. It was working out great.

At about 3.5 months we started putting her in the crib for naps. She did great transitioning to the crib and that is really the only place she naps, unless she naps for a bit in the car. We even started putting her to bed in the crib and she sleeps great in there. We still grab her from the crib and bring her upstairs with us when we go to bed. We just recently took the newborn napper out of the pack'n'play and she sleeps in the bassinet part. Not for long though, there is a 15 lb weight limit.

I often wonder how long we will do this switch a roo. She sleeps wonderfully in her crib, and granted, she doesn't wake her up when I bring her upstairs, but still. I feel guilty disrupting her. I know I am 100% doing this for my benefit. She does not need to sleep in our room, I just love having her there and I feel better knowing she is right by my side. Plus, when she loses her paci it's very easy for me to go pop it back in.

I feel proud that she is good sleeping in her crib. A lot of babies don't like their cribs, and I am aware that we are so lucky she sleeps well. I just need to bite the bullet and one of these nights leave her alone. Maybe when she is 6 months.

Making Mom Friends

This is sort of embarrassing to say, and I wouldn't say this to too many people, but being a mom is lonely. I mean, I am with Sister Bear all day long, and see Papa Bear everyday and Brother Bear every other day, but I am lonely for friends. People who can relate to me and my life. People who want to talk about babies all day long but understand that sometimes I want to talk about other things as well. People who know what a big deal it is to walk up to the coffee shop and get out of the house for 4o minutes or so.
I have friends that have babies and kids, but no one that lives close. And no one that I feel I relate to, as a mom. Is that weird? I think it is....
We moved in September to our new house and I love it here and have met the neighbors and have become friendly with some of them, but there is no one (yet) that has become the type of friend that comes over for coffee, or for wine, just to hang out so our kids can play on the floor while we chat. That is what I am looking for. I don't think it is too much to ask. I am just not sure how to get to that point with someone. It's like dating all over again, without the joy of the first kiss. Ha Ha.
I go for walks around the neighborhood a few days a week, keep my eyes open for other moms. There always seems to be people pushing strollers down the street, but I never approach them. If they would approach me, I would love it, but how do I know they feel the same way? Maybe they have oodles of mommy friends and don't need another one.
We have a park near our house, and I recently took the kids there. I was so excited when we approached and I saw two other moms there with young kids. Brother Bear started playing and attempted to play with the kids, and I don't want to sound mean, but the kids were very unfriendly to him. To the point where I was uncomfortable, wondering how these moms could let their kids act like this. These were not the type of moms I was looking to meet. We moved on to another play structure and encountered other kids and moms but nothing happened. No conversations were started (umm...excuse me? Don't you see this adorable baby in my stroller? Don't you want to ask how old she is? What is her name? Anything?? Want to be my friend? I have wipes to share! Diapers? Candy? Guess not.....)
This is depressing even writing this. I guess if I want friends so bad, I need to take the first step. Use the old "We are new to the area" approach and see where it gets us. Our community has a reputation of being a bit....snooty I guess is an appropriate word, but I assumed we would meet the next generation of families, the ones like us, friendly, beer drinking, flip flop wearing, pizza eating real families, looking for real relationships with neighbors.
Any suggestions?
Some of my moms friends suggested having a party at our place when the weather heats up to reintroduce ourselves to the neighbors, which sounds like a good idea, but I get so nervous doing stuff like that. What if it's a flop? What if no one comes, or what if we don't click with anyone. I would be so deflated.
Ok I need to just let go of my fears, I really have nothing to lose.
I am sort of holding hope that when Sister Bear starts school I will make friends with other moms from her school...but jeez that is like 4 years from now. I need something before that.
I will keep you posted on our friend finding adventures.

Beaba Babycook

I am lucky enough to have the Beaba Babycook, Papa Bear and Sister Bear gave it to me for Christmas.
I also got a great cookbook, Cooking for Baby (he got it at Williams Sonoma). Well of course I read almost the whole book that night. I wanted to get an idea of what making your own baby food was all about. Keep in mind I have zero experience with baby food....jarred or homemade. At the time Sister Bear was only 6 weeks old, no where near ready for baby food, but as usual, I wanted to be prepared for the future. The book has great hints and tips in the first few pages or so about getting started, what to introduce and when and how to prepare. Then came the recipes.

So although Sister Bear is now 5 months, we have still not started her on cereal or any other solids. But...this thing was calling my name!!!! I had read the book a couple more times and decided to give it a whirl.

I picked up two sweet potatoes at the store and they were my first adventure. Seemed like a good idea, pretty basic for baby food, pureed sweet potatoes. Very simple....basically steaming and pureeing.

So, here is how I did it:
I peeled the potatoes


Then I chopped them. This is one potato, cut up.


I added water to the reservoir in the Babycook, based on the instructions (to the line marked "3"), then added one chopped potato to the basket and put the basket in the bowl, and steamed it for 15 minutes.


After 15 minutes I checked the potatoes with a fork and decided they were soft enough. I took the basket out of the bowl, poured the water from the bowl into a cup (for later use) and transferred the potatoes into the bowl for pureeing. I added about 1 ounce of the reserved water and about 2 ounces of breast milk to the potatoes to thin them out. I pureed until nice and smooth.


I transferred the pureed sweet potatoes into the freezer tray and froze for 24 hours. After that I transferred the frozen pieces to a ziplock labeled with the date and type of food.


When it is time for Sister Bear to have solids, it will be so easy to just remove a portion of sweet potato, thaw and feed. She is going to love them!!

I really really loved making these sweet potatoes. It was so simple and fast. I loved that I barely had any dishes to do since everything was done in either the basket or the bowl. I am not sure what I will make next but I will post the information. I am thinking a fruit...pears maybe.

Welcome to Momma in the Woods

Hello and Welcome!!!
Yes, I realize I am talking to NO ONE.....but I have high hopes someone will be reading this soon. Hopefully.
I am new to Mommy Blogging....but am obsessed with reading other Mommy Blogs. I have a baby blog that I love doing. I went back and forth about where I wanted to go with it, and in the end I decided to keep it more focused on my daughter, not so much on me and my experiences. That is what this blog is for. Reviews, giveaways, advice.
I will continue my baby blog to follow and report what my daughter is up to, but I don't want to overwhelm it with other information.
So my first duty as a Mommmy Blogger....get followers....find people interested in what I have to say. How do I do that?? Not sure, but I will find a way. Lots of Mommy Bloggers use Twitter and Facebook to get a following, but I am not into the whole social networking scene. Are there other ways? I guess I will just continue to read other Mommy Blogs, take cues from them. Leave comments and hope other bloggers check me out. I better start by introducing myself and giving you a reason to get interested:

I am a 20 something gal living in the Woods. I will refer to myself as "Momma Bear". I am married to "Papa Bear", step mom to "Brother Bear" and new mom to "Sister Bear".

Brother Bear is 4.5 and absolutely the sweetest boy on the planet. I have known him since he was about 1.5 and we have been just the best of friends since. He stays with us 50% of the time. He is a pure joy, he loves me, my family and absolutely ADORES his baby sister.

Sister Bear is 5 months old. Born November 2009. OMG she is the most amazing thing to EVER happen to me!! She is fabulous. I know I am her momma so it's obvious I would be saying this...but I am for real. This baby is out of this world!!!!

Papa Bear is my best friend (cheesy I know), but you other moms probably know what I am saying when I say that since becoming a parent I spend pretty much all my time with the family. Therefore Papa Bear knows everything about me...he is involved in all I am involved in. Some days I really miss the days of going out with friends and not worrying about babysitters, hangovers, money. You know, having my own life....but for now, I am happy with the way things are. And if I am going to be spending time with someone besides my best friends, I am happy it's Papa Bear. We have been married since December 2008, bought a house in 2009 and are just living the life.

Like I said, Sister Bear is an easy baby. Therefore I am dying for a hobby. I wish it was something like knitting, sewing, cooking, decorating, but I don't know how to do any of that. What I do know how to do is type, spend hours online, shop and take care of a family. Therefore, said hobby will be blogging. Maybe someday I will learn how to knit, or clean, or exercise, but for now, I am going to take a stab at this. And I am very excited about it!! Please follow my blog and leave comments. Let me know what you like, what I can improve on, what you want to read about and what will keep you coming back for more.