Hoarders

I am not a hoarder.  I swear.  Although if you walk into my house right now you wouldn't believe me.  One glance from the A&E television producers, and I'd probably be the star of the next episode of the reality tv show.  So...here is what happened.

Ten years ago I graduated from college and started a great career with no husband or family for the foreseeable future at the time.  I bought a small house that I renovated with the help of my family, and I moved in with my cousin as a roommate.  The house was perfect.  After renovations (my realtor and I joked that it was the crackhead house before I got hold of it - more details coming in a future blog post), it was just what I wanted.  It was very low maintenance and perfect for my cousin and me.

Yes - the ceiling is pink :)

Then introduce my future husband Kent and his daughter Trinity.  Kent was considering purchasing a house when we met, but because I already owned one, he moved into my house instead.  Suddenly I had a built in family.    Not to mention that my husband is a musician, which means he came along with about 15 guitars and speakers and all sorts of fun stuff (which I also LOVE, but it takes up space).  At first it was great.  My cousin moved out, and Trinity and I painted the room the colors of her choice.  The spare room became Kent's office/music room. We planned to move into a place with more space and a bigger yard, but for then it was still okay.

Insert new baby.  We knew we didn't have space.  My very handy husband, with the help of family and friends, built a shed that we could use as a separate man-cave.  We did everything we were supposed to - approval from the home owners association included.  We built the shed.  Then suddenly the HOA decided we had to take it down (a story for another day/blog post).

Right at the same time, we acquired all sorts of new baby accessories, which have been crammed into every crevice in our house - a lot of stuff is needed for such a small person.  The guitars moved to a new home in the corner of our kitchen.  Kent's back inversion table thingy moved into Trinity's room.  The computer desk settled into the corner of our living room.  For weeks we couldn't even open our front door.  Kent had to sell some of his music equipment to make room.  In addition to that, we have now started collecting boxes to pack with when we move.  Our space is livable, but not ideal.

We are tired of living in an episode of Hoarders!  It is time to move!  So we have started house shopping.  We may build; we may renovate.  It's all up in the air right now, but we are really excited!  I plan on documenting our progress - and getting your opinions ;)  My husband and I both enjoy home improvement projects, and we are definitely do-it-yourselfers.  So expect many how-tos and blog posts about our experiences in the future!      

Chia Seed Blueberry Cobbler

I have tried to make this cobbler about 16.5 times.  One time it was more like peach soup..another time we could have used the apples as apple chips because it was so dry...and then there was the extra blackened blackberry cobbler we attempted to make in a dutch oven...  Finally...I think I got it right :)

I've seen different versions of this recipe all over the internet, but they usually call for a pie filling - which makes the dish a little too sweet for me, or just plain old fruit - which usually comes out too liquidy or too dry.

I also recently discovered a magic ingredient that also adds fiber and protein - CHIA seed! So with those powers combined I came up with this Chia Seed Blueberry Cobbler!


I preheated the oven to 350 and prepared everything while it was heating up.

First, I poured two large packages of fresh blueberries into my sauce pan and simmered with 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons of honey.  If you want a sweeter cobbler, add more honey!  I think it would also be yummy (and would stretch the recipe) to add more blueberries!  I then decided it needed some thickening (and some extra fiber) so I added 1/4 cup chia seed and brought to a boil.

Chia seed is like magic - it thickens things up sort of like cornstarch, but adds extra fiber and protein as a bonus.  It does give it a little seedy texture that reminded me of blackberry cobbler, but I didn't mind!

I then let simmer and went on to making the crust.

I've read some recipes that said to just pour cake mix on top and then add butter (anywhere from 1 to 2 sticks), but I found even with 2 sticks of butter my topping still had some dry spots after the butter melted.  Instead, I melted the butter first (1 stick) and combined with the yellow cake mix ahead of time until it was crumbly.

Once the oven is preheated, pour the blueberry sauce into a baking dish and cover evenly with the cake mix concoction.  Cook 30 minutes until golden brown!  Serve warm with ice cream!  Yum!

View and rate full recipe on SparkPeople

Parenting 101

I am no parenting expert.  When the hospital sent me home with my son I was skeptical.  Are you sure this is okay Ms. Nurse Lady?  I don't need to get a parenting degree or something?  Are you really going to let me leave?  I put that tiny 5 lb 13 oz baby in his carseat and double checked the straps 10 times.  I really really wanted a degree.  Instead I searched google.  CIO, PUPD, attachment parenting, baby led weaning, LO, DH, DS, DD - seriously they have a name for everything (and an acronym - which thoroughly confused me when I first began blog hopping).    There is no parenting degree for a reason - every kid is different.  Every parent is different.  What works for one family isn't going to work for another.  Plus the research changes the recommended way of doing things every five minutes or so.  I know....not very useful right?  I have successfully navigated the first 6 months of my son's life with the help of my husband (DH - for those of you who love acronyms) and many many hours spent on the phone with my best friend who is now a stay at home mom of two sons and was a pediatric nurse before kids (and even she claims not to be an expert - although her advice is invaluable).  I expect that by the age of 18 my son will be potty trained and sleeping in his own bed regardless of the method I choose.  There are many things I have tried, and many things that worked or didn't work.  I don't believe there is a right or wrong parenting method - its just a choice every person has to make for themselves and their families.  And there is no one there to say - you picked such and such parenting method and you did something else! Fail!  There is nothing wrong with creating a combination method of all the different CHJD or HFHUEIO or JFJJFI methods and whatever other acronyms they may come up with in the next five minutes.

So, after researching all the methods, I've tried bits and pieces of them all.  Here are a few things I have tried that I plan on blogging about in the future:

• Sleep Training
• I used a little of Tracey Hoggs Pick Up Put Down method, a little Cry it Out, and a little attachment parenting - haha i think that covers just about all of them
• Breastfeeding 
• I'm a working mom and and still exclusively breastfeeding/pumping
• Solids
• Gonna be starting to add this into Parker's diet soon :)
• Schedule
• I have used a flexible schedule that is sort of a cross between baby led and clock led

I don't claim to be an expert, but I'm going to post my experiences and maybe they will help someone else out!