Monday, August 20, 2012

Aromatherapy Heat Wrap Covers

Here are the heat wrap covers I made! I am finally finishing this post even though I made these several months ago... it's been a busy summer!





Here's what I did for my 9" x 13" heat wraps.... (sorry I didn't take pictures along the way)

Two-Piece Cover

16.5" x 11" piece of fleece
15" x 11" piece of flannel for the accent/back side
9" strip of 3/4" velcro.

Hem  (1/2") the one of the short ends of each piece of fabric to give them a finished edge.

Sew the hook piece of velcro to the wrong side of the fleece at the finished edge. Sew the loop piece of velcro to the right side of the flannel at the finished edge.

Sew right sides together using 1/2" seam, leaving the end that doesn't meet up open. Turn right-side out and baste the edges together.

Insert heat wrap and secure velcro. That's it!


One-Piece Cover

30 1/2" x 11" piece of flannel
9" strip of 3/4" velcro

Hem (1/2") the short ends to give them a finished edge.

Sew the hook piece of velcro to the wrong side of one end at the finished edge and the loop piece of velcro to the right side of the other end at the finished edge.

Fold the right sides together, leaving the end  with the hook piece of velcro hanging off by an inch for the flap. Sew together using 1/2" seam and turn right-side out. Baste edges together.

Insert heat wrap and secure velcro. Done!



I hope these directions were simple to follow, I know it'd be better with pictures, perhaps I'll be able to update this post after I make another heat wrap cover and take pictures along the way. Happy sewing!

Saturday, August 18, 2012

7 months

Another busy month has flown by and Connor is 7 months old! He is now about 19.4 lbs and 29 inches (at home measurements). It's getting harder to get him to hold still for pictures, lol.

7 months!

We started solids and boy has that been a challenge. Because of Connor's issues with some of the foods I have eaten, we have to introduce foods one at a time and wait 3-5 days before starting a new food. Of course, if he reacts to a food, we stop immediately and then have to wait for his reactions (usually involving eczema and a diaper rash) to clear so we'll know if the next food is safe or not. First, we tried oatmeal, but I could barely get him to eat it. So after 3 days of trying, I decided to move on to the good stuff. Squash seemed like a safe first food and is low on the allergy list, so we started with the jarred variety. I noticed a little eczema but it had been hot and figured it was just the heat irritating it... until day 4 when I roasted a nice butternut squash and let Connor feed himself (which he loved) and then noticed that not only had the eczema gotten slowly worse, but it was now on his face (for the first time) and was now accompanied by a diaper rash and stuffy nose. Squash? Really?! So even though he seemed to be enjoying the squash... we had to stop and wait for everything to clear. My LLL leader said her son went through a phase where he reacted to anything orange so hopefully he just grows out of this and isn't really allergic to squash. So once his skin was clear, we went to pears. Thankfully, no reaction to pears, but he doesn't seem to like them all that much either. So next we tried avocado. He loves squishing the food between his fingers and getting to feed himself. I'm not sure how much he liked the avocado but he did eat some and didn't see to completely hate it. We only tried it one day though because we were on vacation and he ended up reacting to the butter on my steak at the wedding we went to... so now I have to wait for that to clear his system before we can try more avocado or something new. Well at least I know he's still allergic/sensitive to dairy since I'm supposed to try it every couple of months to see if he's grown out of it yet. Poor kid. Well it could be worse... so we'll keep on trying and hope he grows out of his sensitivities and doesn't stay allergic to anything, but if he does, we'll manage that too.

Squash!

Yum!

No more pears!

Connor got to meet his Grandpa Tank at the end of July as he was passing through town.

Connor & Grandpa


Connor is going to be in the 2013 calendar for Brown Fertility, the clinic who helped us conceive him. He did a great job at the photo shoot and I got the file of my favorite picture and will get an 8x10 of the one they choose for the calendar. If only there was more work in the area and my agent wasn't so far, I might sign him up and get his college fund going!



In the area of motor skills... Connor has been trying to get moving all month. He started the month with lunging forward to reach for toys, then picking up one of his hands while on his hands and knees to grab toys, all while getting himself back up to a sitting position. This meant when I put him in his toy area while I make a meal or grab the laundry, he was not always where I last put him! He could make his way around his play area and not fuss because he couldn't reach a toy. Towards the end of the month, he started getting a little forward motion, but not much, and then he'd sit himself back up. While on our trip though, he made more progress and by the time we got home, we was crawling! He doesn't go too far yet, maybe a couple of feet, but each day he goes a little further and gets better at it. He can be fast though if he's after the dogs, the cat, their toys, or a black cord, lol. My days are getting a whole lot busier! He's also started to try puling up on things and has managed a couple of times. He still likes to grab my hands and hold on while walking around "chasing" the dogs, but he still needs me for balance so it might be a while before he's actually walking... he still hasn't started cruising furniture yet...

Oops, wrong way!


I've noticed more babbling lately too, especially "bababa" or "dadada" sounds and occasionally when he fusses it sounds like he's saying "mama" but I don't think he really means it yet. He loves to squeal and scream and recently seems to give me an angry scream if I don't come get him right away when he needs something. I've only just started exposing him a little to some basic signs that he'll be able to do eventually to help him communicate. I really need to be better about doing them more and making sure to figure out all the signs I want to teach him that will help with early communication.

And to finish out our month, Connor took his first plane ride. We went to visit family and go to my friend/college roommate's wedding. I'm going to do a separate post about the trip, but overall it went well and we had a good time.

1st Plane Ride!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Farmer's Market Breakfast Bake



Ok, so I actually made this for dinner but it is more of a breakfast food. This recipe arose from the need for a quick, easy meal that I could whip up with what I had in the house. This would be a great breakfast to make after a visit to the farmer's market. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Ingredients

Canola oil spray
16 oz package frozen hash browns
10 oz package frozen cut spinach, thawed & drained (use paper towels to soak the water out)
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk substitute (I used coconut milk drink, you can use regular milk if you don't need to be dairy free)
1 lb. gluten-free breakfast sausage (I used Jimmy Dean's maple pork sausage)
2 cups of chopped vegetables (I used bell peppers)
salt & pepper

Directions


Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with canola oil spray.

Spray a medium skillet (or add 1 tbsp of canola oil) and brown the sausage over medium heat, breaking into small crumbles, until cooked through.

Beat the eggs and milk substitute together in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, set aside.

Spread the hash browns on the bottom of the dish, making sure to break apart any chunks. Then layer the cooked sausage, spinach, and chopped veggies. Poor egg mixture over the top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until it's bubbly and the eggs are set.

Serves 6