Sleepy Day and Weekly Menu

Last night was probably one of the hardest nights since having Carter. Not because I only got 4 hours of sleep (I did) and not because I got a headache from being awake so long and her crying (also true) but because she was so upset for so much of the evening. She is an awesome sleeper, and even being sick this past week she has pretty much slept 9-10 hours straight at night. Last night, anytime we laid her down she screamed, and did so until 3am when I called the doctors. After a dose of Tylenol and a car ride we did get her to sleep for an hour, then she woke up again. I fed her to calm her down then we all snuggled into our bed for another 2-3 hours of sleep.

I never thought I would co-sleep with Carter as I didn't really feel comfortable doing it, but when she fell asleep after eating you better believe there was no way I was going to move her. Turns out after a visit to the doctors that she has an ear infection on top of her cold. Hopefully the antibiotic helps clear that up quick! I want my healthy baby back :/

All that aside, I did plan our menu for the week. I really enjoy menu planning. Even though half the time things get moved around and changed by the end of the week, it definitely makes grocery shopping a lot easier and helps keep me from buying things we don't get a chance to eat. Here's what I'm thinking for this week:

Monday: leftover Cheesy Ranch Chicken Hash Brown casserole 

Tuesday: broiled fish and green beans

Wednesday: spaghetti and meatballs

Thursday: leftovers
Friday: pizza slab pie and salads

Baked goods: I made brownies over the weekend, and there are still a few of those left. I've got my eye on Cookies and Cream puppy chow though, so that might be Thursday's project :)

Linking up with orgjunkie.com today!

Sick Baby

Baby Carter came down with the cold I had last Sunday, and I'm pretty sure a sick baby is one of the worst things in the world. Thankfully she doesn't have the flu or something more serious, but its still hard to watch her being all stuffed up and coughing. We've been trying to get her to sleep as much as possible, and even sick she has slept through the night all but one night.

Carter normally sleeps in her crib (she has since about 10 weeks old) but with being sick the incline of the Rock n Sleeper helps her sleep better. The vibrate doesn't hurt either! We have a humidifier going in her room and I think that helps, and been trying to get her to eat as much as possible. Other than saline drops there's not a whole lot more that we can do.

A sick baby coupled with a snow day on Friday means not a whole lot has been happening here. The hubs and I escaped for a few hours on Saturday while my dad watched Carter, and I got Chipotle for lunch (but of course forgot to take a photo).

Here's hoping this week everyone gets over this awful cold. I have our menu almost ready to go for tomorrow and I have actually gotten some knitting done this weekend, so I can't wait to share it!

Socks for Baby Feet

My child has long skinny feet, which she gets from me. All the baby socks seems to be made for kids with short, fatter feet, therefore not only are they too small lengthwise, Carter doesn't have any bulk to hold them on. If they are long socks they are usually ok, but short ones don't work at all. As a knitter I felt it was my duty to fix this problem, but I didn't want to knit socks she would outgrow in 3 weeks. Enter the tube sock!

Tube socks are basically socks without a heel, so they can be worn for a long time before they don't fit. I'm knitting some that are ribbed all the way down on one side and only at the cuff on the other. I know some people do ribbing all the way around, but I was worried it wouldn't be comfortable once Carter started walking. Maybe I will do another pair all ribbed once I finish this pair.

These are being knit out of Sunshine Yarns Classic sock in the Magic colorway on size two needles. These are my "easy" knitting, so they travel with me or get worked on late at night :)

I'm also still working on Carter's stocking. Even though I didn't get it finished for Christmas, I wanted to keep working on it so I wasn't rushing next Christmas to finish it. I'm just starting the last colorwork chart.

This is the New Ancestral Stocking pattern and I'm knitting it out of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes.

Lastly, I started my January knit (according to my 2015 knitting) which is the blanket for my brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law. I was concerned about the pinhole cast on, but the tutorial linked to in the pattern was really clear and I got it right away.

I'm knitting them the Vivid pattern out of several shades of Berocco Vintage. I'll post a good shot of all the colors when I get a little further.

That's my knitting for this week! What are you working on?

My Favorite Cookies

Until a year or two ago, my favorite cookies were chocolate chip. Pretty boring huh? I love cookies and often bake different kinds to take to various parties and events, but if I was just making them for me, chocolate chip was where it was at. Then I ran across a recipe on a favorite blog of mine, and happened to make them. I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, so I omitted a few things and changed up a few amounts. The result became the hands down the favorite in our house (the hubs is also a big fan) and I have a few friends who will request these too! Best part is they're flourless, so I like to think they are healthier than other cookies!

I originally founds the recipe on Courtney's blog, Sweet Tooth Sweet Life. If you haven't read her blog before, go check it out! I love how down to earth she is and I feel like I'm catching up with a friend when I read her posts. You can find her recipe here, but this is how I change it up.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups peanut butter (my personal fave is Peter Pan Honey Roast!)
3 eggs
2 tbsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
1 bag chocolate chips (if you like a lot of chocolate chips, add more!)
4.25-4.5 cups of quick cooking oats (sometimes 4.5 cups seems like too many!) start with 4 cups and see how it mixes

Start by beating the butter and sugars together, then add ingredients in order. Bake for 9-11 minutes on a cookie sheets in a 350 degree oven. Cool and transfer to a cooling rack or plate. EAT!

These easy to make and always go over well. The hubs actually likes them better the next day, so they definitely keep well too.

Reading Goals

While my knitting time has certainly decreased since I had Carter, my reading time has increased! I'm able to read on my phone while feeding her, and also while pumping, so I'm all about the ebooks right now. Thankfully I can borrow them through the library I work at and also the New York Public Library, so I have a lot of (FREE!) options.

I use Goodreads to keep track of what books I've read and when, and what books I'd like to read. I can use their app on my phone so I don't even have to wait until I'm sitting down at the computer to update my progress or add new books to me "to read" list. One of my favorite features of Goodreads in their yearly reading challenge. I had hoped to read 52 books in 2014, and I only made it to 42. Even though I didn't quite reach my goal, I feel pretty good about my result! Here are the books I read:

This year I hope to read 45 books. I know once I'm not breastfeeding and pumping anymore that my reading time will taper way off, so I didn't want to set it too much higher than last year's result. Here are some of the books on my "to read" list I'm excited to get to this year:

     

Any stand out books you read last year? What books are you looking forward to this year?