Sleepy Sleepy!

Last night marked the first night that Luca slept in his crib. I decided that he was outgrowing his basinette and it was time to make the transfer. I cant lie, I had a little bit of seperation anxiety. He isnt really doing his full nights yet. Sometimes he does, sometimes he still wakes up once to eat. So last night I decided to make the big move. You`re going to laugh though, as I slept on an inflatable mattress on the floor in his room. Haha! I know I know. I DO have a good explanation for it though. Hubby was VERY sick yesterday with high fever and coughing, etc. Saturday night he ended up sleeping on the sofa because he didnt want to wake me and the baby up with his coughing. So last night, since I wanted Luca to sleep in his crib anyways, I thought it was a good idea to sleep in his room and leave the bed to hubby so he was more comfortable. It ended up working out for everyone. Hubby had the whole bed and didnt have to feel bad about coughing and waking us up. Luca was more comfortable in his crib and I didnt panic so much leaving Luca alone.

How did last night go?? Excellent. Luca slept all night until 5am and then woke up, I fed him and he fell asleep again. I had to wake him up at 7:45am because he had his 6 month vaccination this morning. Or else I think he would have continued sleeping. He didnt wake up once crying like he always did in his basinette. Hopefully it wasnt a one time deal. I really hope that he`s more comfortable and he starts sleeping his full nights. Fingers crossed.

He`ll probably be sleepy all day today because of the vaccinations. All good, he`s in his crib right now. Looks like he`s loving it. Funny thing is, I covered him last night expecting to see the blanket at the bottom of the bed this morning, especially since I heard him rolling around last night. When I went to check on him this morning, he was completely on the opposite side of the bed and turned around.....but the blanket was still tucked around him as if I had just put it on him! LOL! Hilarious. I will try not to cover him tonight, the blanket thing stresses me out. I will see if his sleep sack still fits him.

Ni -xox-

I Love Love Love This!

While browsing around on the Internet today, I ran into this incredibly cute party theme, that one day I would LOVE to recreate. I found it on http://www.blissfultree.com/ . I love the vintage feel. I`m really into vintage things lately. Its just so pretty. I think I was born in the wrong decade!

Ni -xox-

Muffin Mania

Last week I looked up some recipes for low fat\low cal muffins. I love muffins. I pretty much love anything thats bready. I found s great recipe for muffins that are 89 calories each. They were lemon cranberry cornmeal. They turned out pretty good, but I think I put a little too much lemon. Yesterday I wanted to make another batch, but I switched it up. I made blueberry vanilla muffins instead. I tweaked the recipe. It takes a no fat sour cream, but I used no fat greek yogurt instead. It also takes a homemade buttermilk (which is really easy to make by the way). Instead of cornmeal, I used corn flour. I also added some bran. They turned out really good. Next time, I will just grease the muffin tin with non stick spray because both times I made the muffins, the papers are really glued to the muffins.

Ni -xox-

Baldy Baby!

At around 2 months old, one day, Luca was sitting on my lap and I looked down at his head and it was all crusty and yellow. I almost had a heart attack. I thought maybe it was craddle cap. Can you get craddle cap at 2 months old?? So I went online to search and in fact it WAS craddle cap. He had a pretty severe case of it. It looked so gross, poor baby. I wasnt sure how long it was going to last. Fast forward four months later and he still very much had it. I was getting fed up of it. I would imagine it being itchy and uncomfortable. I was slowly combing some of it out each day. Today I made the big move and combed it ALL out. There was A LOT! The thing about craddle cap is, that with every little crust, there are like 20 hairs attached. So it goes without saying that since today I took all the crusts off, my baby is now a little baldy! Its a bit funny because the craddle cap was only on top of his head, so his hair is very thin on top and thicker on the sides. He was born with a ton of hair, so its a little weird to see him so bald. He probably still has more hair than most babies. Well, at least his head is smooth now. Hopefully it doesnt come back. Oh, the things you have to do as a mother. Anyway, bald and all, that cute little face still melts my heart!

Ni -xox-

Food, food and food!

 I`ve given up on peas for now. Luca really doesnt like them. No point in forcing him. This weekend he started carrots and it seems to be better. At first he always makes the yucky face, but then it gets better. I guess carrots are sweeter than peas. The texture is also smoother. He`s done his 3 days of carrots and now we`re on our second day of sweet potato. It`s going pretty well. He seems to be getting more used to the different tastes. After sweet potato, I will introduce him to Squash. We`re almost done all the first veggies. Cant wait to start him on fruit.

Ni -xox-

Date Night

This past weekend was the first time in almost six months that me and hubby had a date night. Luca slept over at my parent`s house Saturday night. So what did we do? First we went to Table 51 restaurant. We ended up meeting my cousin and his girlfriend there and sat with them for supper. It was an amazing meal and not expensive. I had their special club sandwich. It was served on ciabatta bread, with grilled chicken, slices of green apples, melted cheese and I think bacon. Anyway, really good. Then for dessert, we all shared the.....are you ready for this......Deep Fried Oreos! Yes....Oreos in a batter, then deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Served hot with a bowl of vanilla ice cream. O....M.....G! Delicious. All in all, a great meal.

After supper, hubby and I went to the movies to see Red Riding Hood. I thought it would be scarier. It wasnt really. It did keep you in suspense though. The movie was alright. It was produced by the producers of Twilight. There were many similarities. The music, the filming style and some of the characters. So yeah, it was pretty good.

So thats how our night went. We finally got a FULL night sleep uninterupted. Got to sleep in. Rested all Sunday. Watched movies, stayed in pjs, took a nap and just vegged out. It was a really good, well needed, restful weekend. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Ni -xox-

Homemade Teething Biscuits

I discovered an awesome website called Babble. (actually I saw it on my friend Jackie`s facebook page. Thanks Jackie!). It has tons of interesting things. I found this super good idea for making your own teething cookies. They are a much healthier alternative to store bought. No sugar or preservatives. All natural and home ingredients. The recipe is very easy to make. There are other recipes too on their site for other teething cookies. These looked the simplest. Well, when the time comes that Luca is old enough to start chewing on cookies, I will definitely be making these.

Ni -xox-

Thumb Sucker

I believe I have a thumb sucker on my hands. He started sucking his thumb at around one month old. Once at night, I heard him sucking, but it didnt sound like he was sucking on his pacifier. I looked over in his basinette and he was sucking his thumb. I thought it was the cutest thing ever. Such a little thumb. He didnt do it regularly however. Lately, he`s been doing it more and more. Sometimes I think he prefers his thumb to his pacifier or his toys. Am I getting myself into trouble letting him suck his thumb?? I might be. It`s a little hard to get him to stop when thats what he wants. Its not like I could take it away like something he`s not supposed to be chewing on. Its his finger! Ah well!! I still think it`s super cute. Hopefully he`ll just grow out of it. I mean, have you ever seen a grown man sucking his thumb?? (if you have....I have no comments!! LOL!)

Ni -xox-

Skinny Chicken Ceasar with Burnt Crostini...oops!

Tonight was a chicken ceasar salad type of night. So that's what I made. The chicken was grilled with salt, pepper and garlic. The dressing was homemade, using fat free Greek yogurt. It turned out really creamy and tasty and it was a very low cal dressing. The crostini was not so bad....a little burnt. You have to really babysit anything you put under the broiler. It goes from pale to charred in one second. I think I caught mine right on time. They were drizzled with a little bit of olive oil and then when they came out of the oven hot, they were rubbed with garlic. A very good supper and might I add, I`m really stuffed!!

Ni -xox-

Sweet Peas....or sour?!?!

As I said yesterday, I`ve decided to make my own baby food. Today for the first time, Luca tasted Peas. I bought mini peas because they are supposed to be sweeter. So I boiled them in a little bit of water, mashed them with the water and then strained them to get all the peels out. Let me tell you, not as easy as it sounds to strain peas. But I did it. I didnt think that Luca would like this new food. He didnt really like anything new he`s tasted right away (except Barley cereal). No exception here. He didnt like it. Not suprised. First of all, right now he`s used to eating cereal which pretty much all taste the same. Peas are a really different flavor from anything he`s ever put in his mouth. I`m not worried though. I`m going to try again tomorrow and again the day after. He`ll eventually get used to veggies. Hopefully he`ll be excited like when he sees his cereal. It`s fun now that I can finally say that he`s excited about his cereal. Anyway, if he doesnt like peas, I dont blame him....I dont like them either! Yucky!!

Ni -xox-

Just because he`s a Cutie!

Ni -xox-

Delicious Frittata Supper

I wont repeat where I got this recipe....by now you should know! The recipe was supposed to be a veggie, bacon frittata. I didnt have any bacon, so I made a vegetarian version. It turned out really yummy. It was nice and fluffy and very flavorful. I had never made a frittata before. I usually just throw everything in the pan and make a veggie scrambled eggs thing. This time I took the time to make the egg, milk and cheese mixture, make it set in the pan and then finish it in the oven. I really enjoyed eating this. It was super easy to make. 200 calories per piece, but that was WITH bacon. Without bacon, probably much less. Pair it with a nice fresh salad on the side and you have a nutritious, satisfying supper.

Ni -xox-

More Mac `n` Cheese Please!!

I have a weakness for mac and cheese. I mean, pasta smothered with gooey cheese...come on! Who doesnt love it?!? In my `Cook Yourself Thin` cookbook, there isnt a recipe for mac and cheese. However, on the foodtv website, under Cook Yourself Thin show, I found just what I wanted. Yay! I guess its a little hard to make mac and cheese low cal. The smalll change in this recipe is using skim milk. It still comes out gooey and creamy. Per portion, it is 500 calories. Considering how much cheese is in here, thats not bad. Another successful dish. The best part, lots of leftovers. Guess what I`m having for lunch today??

Ni -xox-

Progress

Here are a few things that have beem going on. To follow up my last post, yesterday I put Luca in his crib to play while I was doing some cleaning. All of a sudden he started crying, but it sounded muffled. I thought that maybe he had put his blanky on his face (which he thinks is fun, until he realizes he cant take it off). I went to see, and to my suprise, he was face down. LOL! Poor baby. So my little Luca is officially a rolling baby (well he rolls one way, still working on rolling back over). Guess I have to be really careful now. Cant leave him alone on the sofa anymore. Not convenient, but thats ok.

Update on the eating situation. Luca is a little glutton. He gets sooooo excited when he sees his bowl of cereal and sits forward with his mouth open. The cutest thing is, every bite he has, follows with a `MMMMM`. Adorable!!! I guess he`s really loving his cereal now. Big change in 2 weeks. He has graduated from one tablespoon for breakfast, to 2 tablespoons for breakfast and 2 for supper. He still opens his mouth when he`s done. I think tomorrow I`ll add another tablespoon for breakfast. I cant believe how well he`s taken to his cereal. This week sometime, I`m going to make my own baby food. First on the menu, Peas. I already bought some mini peas. Cant wait to see his face. I think that it might take a while to get used to food food (not cereal). We`ll see, maybe he`ll love it. Who knows.

It`s already been two nights this week that Luca does his nights. Last night being the second time. I put him to bed at 9:30pm and he only woke up at 6:00am. To my suprise he ate and fell asleep again until 8:30am. It was awesome. I really welcomed the sleep. It felt so good not to have to sit up in bed 1-3 times during the night to feed. Awesome. I might be that he was awake from noon until 9:30pm with only a 30 minute nap. He was exhausted. Well, we`ll see if this continues, it`s really great. I wonder if the food is helping to keep him satisfied longer?? Or was it just because he hadnt napped all day??

Ni -xox-

Milestone

Yesterday was a milestone for my little baby. We were at my parents house and I was on the sofa with my grandma, with Luca in between us lying down. I wasnt paying attention because my grandma was playing with Luca. Next thing I know, I look down at him and he's on his belly. I asked my grandma if she turned him and she said No and that he did it on his own. Cute!!! It was the first time he turned over all by himself. To top it off, it's harder to turn from back to belly and thats what he did first. Good job baby! He doesnt really like tummy time, so once he turns over, he gets a little bit frustrated. Thats ok though, he's getting stronger, good stuff. Very exciting these milestones. Right now he's in the exersaucer and he's standing up tall and even turning himself all around so he could play with all the different toys. Its so amazing to watch him discover. What will he amaze me with next??

Ni -xox-

Let them Eat Cake!

I felt like baking today. So I put Luca in his high chair, dragged him into the kitchen with me and got out my cookbook. I`ve been meaning to make this recipe for some time now. It looked so good. I love cakes that are cakey.....I know that sounds stupid, I dont know how to explain. I guess what I mean is bready? Anyway. This recipe is called `Raspberry Lemon Tea Cake`. It doesnt have any fat in it. All it takes is low fat greek yogurt. They ask for 2%, but I used fat free. Also, I didnt have raspberries, but I did have frozen mixed berries. So thats what I used. It turned out yummy. Very nice to have with a coffee or tea (hence the `tea cake`). Yogurt based cakes are always very moist and this one is no exception. The best part is, for one slice it`s only 200 calories. Which is very good for a dessert. I would also recommend it for breakfast as it`s not too sweet. Another successful recipe. What will I venture on tomorrow?

Ni -xox-

A World of Jewels

For many years now, i`ve been wanting to start my own business. It hasn't been very successful. For a couple of years I started making jewelry. Of course when you think you`re so original, then you find out that everybody and his uncle is making jewelry. I even took professional pictures of my pieces. My jewelry was all made with sterling silver, swarovski beads and semi-precious stones. Even pearls that I bought myself in Hawaii. Anyway. Maybe I didnt try hard enough to market my stuff or maybe my prices were to high. Who knows. The idea isnt gone forever. I still have a box load of pieces I`ve made. One day maybe. Here are a couple of pictures from my collection.



Perfect for a Bride



Perfect for a Bridesmaid

So there it is. Leave me your thoughts.

Ni -xox-

Who needs a Recipe?....Not ME!

For christmas I got a slow cooker from my grandma. Fun! I really wanted one. My first recipe that I tried was chilli. I could say that it was OK. I found it a little bit dry.

Today I felt like having some chilli, only I decided too late to start my slow cooker. Thankfully I took out some ground veal from the freezer this morning. I went online for a recipe for some quick cooking chilli and couldnt really find anything that looked too exciting. I never really use recipes, except for lately because I`ve become bored of my same old meals everyday. So this evening I said forget trying to find a recipe, I could make one up. I scowered my fridge and found half an eggplant, onions, garlic and some mushrooms. Sounds good to me! My final recipe ended up being a roasted eggplant and mushroom, veal and beans chilli, on of a bed of polenta. I must say, it was AMAZING! So much better than the recipe that came with the slow cooker. I think next time I want come chilli, this one wins it hands down. It was so juicy and tasty. MMMMM!!!!! I wouldnt add or change anything. It was perfect and exactly what I felt like eating tonight. Dont you love when that happens. Its so disappointing when you make something you`re excited about and then you go taste it and it leaves something to be desired. Anyways! I feel like writing a cookbook. I think I just might do that. First recipe to go in.....my Chilli!!

Ni-xox-

Victory is Mine!!

This morning, Luca had a very successful feeding. The first bite that went in, he actually opened his mouth for, he made a yucky face as usual. After that though, he opened his mouth for almost every bite and actually chewed the food and didnt spit it all out....oh and no yucky faces anymore. I`m so happy. I guess he`s getting used to the texture in his mouth. I`m hoping that soon he`ll actually look excited when he sees his food. As excited as when he sees his milk. That will come in time. Baby steps. Today was a big step in the right direction. By this weekend, he will be tasting the last of the starter cereals. I already bought it. Then maybe next week we`ll start the adventure of veggies! Can`t wait to see his reaction. Oh and yesterday I bought him the cutest feeding bowl. It`s an owl of course. I couldn`t resist. They actually had the plate AND the insulated lunch bag. The only thing is, each piece was a little pricey so I opted out on the plate and lunchbag. I figured that he would use the bowl the most for now. But if anyone feels like buying Luca a gift, the plate and lunchbag are sold at Indigo in the kids section! heheh, just kidding!!

Ni -xox

And the food Journey continues...

Last night I had my brother and his family over for supper. For starters I made a roasted vegetable soup. It was yummy and very healthy. I cut up 2 onions, 2 zucchinis, half an eggplant, 4 carrots, a whole head of garlic, 2 yellow peppers, and 2 fresh tomatoes. I tossed them lightly in some olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano. Popped them in the oven for 45 minutes, then added water and pureed it. YUM!
For the main course, I took a recipe from my new favorite cookbook. The recipe: `Linguine with Sausage and Cherry Tomatoes` was what I settled on. It was really good and very simple to make. The only thing is that I didn't have cherry tomatoes. I substituted with half a can of diced tomatoes that I drained the liquid from. It was a good substitution if you don't have fresh cherry tomatoes. It`s also a cheaper alternative, as we all know how expensive cherry tomatoes can get when they are not in season. All in all, it was a yummy supper that I would definately make again.

Ni -xox-

Creamy Corn Chowder

So i`m loving my `Cook Yourself Thinner` cookbook. On Sunday, I decided to make the creamy corn chowder. It`s supposed to be a little over 100 calories per bowl. Not bad! It takes one strip of bacon (yum). I used turkey bacon instead. A lot less fat. I used more than one strip though because it really renders NO fat to cook. Anyways. It turned out not bad. I wouldnt say it was the best, but it was ok. It wasnt as creamy as they said it would be. Nothing creamy was required in the recipe. No cream, or milk.....so I thought it was a little watery. If I were to make it again, I would probably stir in some milk or something.

Ni -xox-

Day 10- Oatmeal Cereal



Heinz Baby Cereal

Since Luca has made it very clear that he doesnt like Rice Cereal, I decided not to torture him anymore and switch to Oatmeal Cereal yesterday. The experience isnt MUCH better. He still makes faces but seems not to HATE it. After a few bites, he kinda gives in. This morning he ate half a bowlful. Which I think is pretty good. Of course a lot of it ended up on his bib, cheeks, lips, nose, forehead and sleeves! LOL! All good. I`m not going to stress over it. Eventually he`s gonna have to like SOMETHING right? Well, we`ll see what happens. I found a very nice menu planner for the first 30 days of baby eating. They test each cereal for 3 days. I obviously have passed three days with the rice, but its ok, I`m just going to use the planner as a guideline. Next venture in a couple of days will be Barley Cereal, and then we start veggies. First on the menu, Peas! (Yuck...i hate peas!).
Ni -xox-