A New Hat: Momma

Good morning, dear friends!

My world has changed, and I now have a new hat to wear. The hat that now proudly sits atop my head seems larger than many of the others. Even though I still have those other hats, many of them are transitory and will be removed from my head at some point in the future. This hat, the momma hat, will be on my head until my final day.

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As I checked into the hospital at 4:30 a.m. in the morning, Mr. Mister and I eagerly anticipated the arrival of our precious little girl. 

Hospital bracelets were donned. 
I had my first IV administered. 
Family and friends arrived and excitedly chattered in the waiting room. 

Hope filled the air, our lungs, and our veins as so we looked forward to Little's arrival. Everyone had a deep desire to see those little toes, ears, and feel the incredibly strong grip of those tiny fingers. Even though she had no idea, Little was very loved before she even made her grand appearance. 

We had a few unexpected experiences that occurred, including an emergency c-section. Nevertheless, baby girl made her debut at 8:03 p.m. that evening and captivated everyone immediately. 

This brand new life captured our hearts as she entered into a world full of joy, hope, and warmth. What a blessed little girl she is!


** I'll be sure to give updates on Little and our family's transition, but please be patient with me as I adjust and take time to get acquainted with our little lady.**

Many Blessings, 
Mrs. ManyHats

What's in My Lunch Sack?

Well good morning, dear friends. Today we are going to play a little game. The title of said game is...

"What's in my lunch sack?"

Is it a delightfully colorful and healthy salad?

Is it hummus and carrot sticks?

Is it an entire box of chocolate covered marshmallow easter eggs?

Today's lunch sack contains the following items:

1 dressed up ham and cheese sandwich.  

I fancied up this simple ham and cheese sandwich by placing it on a pretzel bun with dijon mustard and baking to perfection in aluminum foil.
Yuuummm...cheesy!

I have a weakness for cheese (especially cheddar).

1 Veggie Salad

These ingredients were literally thrown in to a container last night in an attempt to add some color and nutrients to my meal:

• diced cucumber
• diced onion
• diced mozarella
• halved grape tomatoes
• drizzle of olive oil
• drizzle of balsamic vinegar
• sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper

And now for the afternoon snack.....

Avocado and red bell peppers

 

This is one of my absolute favorite snacks of all time. It's healthy! It's colorful! It's yummy!

Two things to remember though...

• Avocado browns quickly. Due to this little fact, I tossed a ripe avocado in my lunch sack intending to slice it at work. If you want to get really fancy, bring a lemon wedge to add some zip to the avocado.
• Don't forget some salt to sprinkle on top of your beautifully sliced avocado.

What's in your lunch sack today??

Baby Prep: Padsicle Recipe

Thus far, I given you some tips on how to get started preparing for your first little bundle of joy and how to start your registry. Today's topic of discussion is...drum roll please.....

Tee hee, please excuse my juvenile silliness.

Padsicles.

Are you confused? Did you think that I meant to say popsicles? Well, I didn't mean to say popsicles, although I do enjoy a good strawberry popsicle loaded with chunks of fruit. I just get so excited about popsicles; they take me back to the first grade. I have fond memories of attempting to eat popsicles on the back porch while the sun continuously thwarted my efforts by causing them to melt and drip down my little-kid hands leaving a residue of bright red goo.

Oh, the fun! Oh, the stickiness! Oh, the need to be hosed down!

Anyway....

I digress.

I truly did mean to say padsicles.

What is a padsicle?

A padsicle is a ginormous maxi pad that is designed to help your postpartum recovery go more smoothly by providing some cooling and soothing relief for your lady bits.

There are numerous recipes for padsicles out there, but this one is all mine. Personally, I decided to make 24 of these for my recovery process. I'd rather have too many than not enough. I wanted to just be able to focus on figuring out how to nurse, be a mommy to one, and be a family of three during my recovery phase.

To begin, here's a list of the ingredients that you'll need.

1.) Maxi Pads
I'm not even going to pretend to know what maxi pad works best for you because each and every lady is different and has their own preferences. So, I suggest that you purchase your favorite brand as long as it is extra long and extra thick. This will help you to get the most bang out of your padsicle allowing for extra soothing.

I went with these ginormous Always brand maxi pads.

2.) Aluminum Foil

You'll need this to securely wrap your padsicle in before you freeze it.

3.) Witch Hazel

Witch Hazel actually comes from a plant that flowers in North America, Japan, and China. People have been using witch hazel medicinally for quite some time now because it helps to soothe sores, bruises, and swelling. In fact, you'll find witch hazel in most over the counter medications for hemorrhoids.

Yipee, that's just what I'm going need!

Witch hazel comes in many brands. After reading all of the labels at my local Walmart, I discovered that the ingredients were exactly the same in the higher priced brands as they were in the cheap off brands.

4.) Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender oil derives from lavender which can be found in a few places. Bulgaria is the largest producer of lavender oil. Interesting, right?

Lavender oil has a few different uses ranging from a perfume ingredient to aromatherapy. It's also known for aiding in relaxation and the reduction of stress, which is why you see it as an ingredient in so many bubble bath solutions. However, lavender oil can also be used to soothe burns, insect bites, and stings.  

5.) 1 large freezer bag (not pictured).

Well, there you have your ingredients. Now let's get started on making those padsicles!

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To begin, cut off several sheets of aluminum foil and unwrap your maxi pads. Place the an unwrapped maxi pad at the end of one of the aluminum foil sheets like so.

Pop open your bottle of witch hazel and squirt it on the maxi pad until damp.

Place a few drops of the lavender oil on the maxi pad, which instantly makes them smell so

much better.

Fold one end over the maxi pad, horizontally.

Then fold the ends over the pad and roll them up the rest of the way.

There you go, you have your first padsicle!

Just fold them in half and stuff them into a freezer bag until your little one arrives.
Now all you are all ready to go! You've got one item in your postpartum recovery kit finished.

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

Are you ready for a recipe that will "bewitch your mind and ensnare your senses?"

Name that film/character!

Yes, it was of course, Severus Snape.

Professor Snape from the Harry Potter series/films.

While Mr. Snape is referencing a potion, I am about to share with you a granola bar recipe that will tickle your fancy and cause you to never purchase a box of Chewy granola bars again.

Just a warning, these aren't your super healthy granola bars filled with nuts, fruit, seeds, and fairy dust that will make you the healthiest lady on the block.

These granola bars are the chewy, gooey, yummy ones. 

Get excited!

I originally found this recipe on Lauren's Latest. However, I've tweaked it by doubling the recipe to fit my pans and by throwing the chocolate chips into the mix instead of placing them on top.

Let's get started. Gather your ingredients.

Ingredients: crisp rice cereal, quick cooking oats, honey, brown sugar, mini chocolate chips, butter, and vanilla (not pictured).

Clearly the vanilla is not pictured because we were completely out. So, Mr. Mister volunteered to pop over next door to our lovely neighbor/land lady to see if she had a teaspoon of vanilla that we could use. She, ever so generously, sent over her vial.

Don't you just love having good neighbors? I sure do!

Dig a large bowl out from one of your cabinets. Measure out and dump your quick cooking oats and crisp rice cereal into the bowl like so. Then give it a nice stir.

 

                        

          

In a saucepan, melt your butter. Then stir in the honey and brown sugar. Stir the mixture together and cook over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble.

                  

Reduce the heat and cook the yummy, buttery, sugary, honey mixture for 2 minutes. Then  measure your vanilla and dump it in there! Stir quickly and remove from the stove.

                

Pour the sauce over into the bowl containing the oats and cereal, stirring quickly to coat. Toss the mini chocolate chip into the bowl and stir quickly.

                    

The chocolate chips will melt in to the mixture as your stir giving the entire mix a hint of chocolate flavoring.

You could always add a bit of Nutella hazelnut spread or peanut butter to the mixture, but theses are already sweet enough for me.

Dump the mixture onto a lightly greased large baking sheet and spread it out evenly.

      

Leave these out on the counter top for 2 hours to set. If you notice that they aren't setting well, pop them into the refrigerator for a few minutes. Just don't leave them in there too long or they will get hard.

 

And now you have your very own batch of homemade, chewy granola bars!

Oh are these yummy! 

Place one on a pretty, white plate. Sit down to eat it before you let anyone else know that the granola bars are finished. This will ensure that you get to enjoy at least one bar before the entire batch gets gobbled up by your family and/or friends.

After you've indulged yourself and enjoyed a chewy, gooey, yummy, chocolate-y granola bar, package them up. You can wrap them in saran wrap or be lazy like me and pop them into snack size Ziploc bags.

I hope you enjoy these! Here's the recipe:

No Bake Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

                ½ c. butter                                                        2 c. crispy rice cereal

                ½ c. honey                                                        1 tsp. vanilla

                2/3 c. brown sugar                                       4 Tbsp. mini chocolate chips

                4 c. quick oats

Directions

o       Stir oats and rice cereal together & set aside.

o       In pot, melt butter, honey, and brown sugar over medium high heat until it bubbles.

o       Reduce heat & cook 2 minutes. Add vanilla & stir.

o       Pour over dry ingredients and mix well.

o       Pour onto lightly greased pan & sprinkle with chocolate chips, pressing down lightly.

o       Cool on counter top for 2 hours. Wrap & store at room temperature.

Marriage is of Great Value

Good morning on this lovely Wednesday!

As someone who's passionate about marriage and healthy relationships, I often wonder how different married couples celebrate and maintain their relationship. 

Although I could begin spouting off statistics and research on the subject from various sources, I will not. I've learned that not everyone is a statistics and research nerd like me. Plus, I'm just not one who likes to clump people into groups and label them as a success or failure. Nevertheless, I'd like to spend some time here on my blog exploring marriage.

Now, I am in no way declaring Mr. Mister or myself to be experts when it comes to relationships. However, we have discovered several things that work for us as a couple. So, my goal is simply to recount just that. In sharing what works for us, perhaps you will be encouraged to find out or share what works for you.

While my focus will mostly be on what works for Mr. Mister and myself, there will be times when I'll introduce you to a particularly helpful book or concept that has enriched our marriage. These little relationship nuggets will start appearing on my blog each Tuesday.

Also, I'd love for you to share your stories with me.

So...

Please, oh, please feel free to email me at themrsmanyhats@gmail.com.

I'd love to hear what works in your relationships and am willing to look into any areas that you'd like for me to explore. After all, I do have a wealth of information/resources as my disposal on marriage and relationships.

My Story
First I'd like to share what propelled my passion for marriage and healthy relationships. Then, I'd like to share with you a bit of the vision that guides Mr. Mister and I in the pursuit of a rock-solid marriage.

I grew up in a family where there was a lot of difficulty and strife. Although my parents deeply loved us (the kiddos) there were many times when it wasn't clear how they felt about one another. They fought hard, loudly, aggressively, and often. Many times either myself or my sister were drawn into their arguments. To this day, our relationships are built upon a tangled up mess of alliances that continue to create stress and strain.

       Despite this history, I strongly believe that people and their relationships
       can change for the better.

This has motivated me to search out ways to be the healthiest me that I can be. Meanwhile, I hope, pray, and believe that my family can find healing and new ways of doing life with one another.

Our Vision for Our Family

Although neither Mr. Mister or I come from a picture perfect family, we've decided to be intentional in creating a vision of the type of family that we want to have.

       Our shared desire is to change our family tree.

So... we decided that we were going to plan to be a success story and an example to our future children in regards to marriage. We desire to live out an example of how to love and love well.

Our first priority is to recognize that a marriage is something that is of great value. If we want for our marriage to be a success, we need to acknowledge that our marriage is valuable and treat it that way. We don't just hope that the details of our relationship will fall into place. Instead, we've chosen to be intentional in how we interact with one another. 

Next Tuesday, I'll introduce to you one of the many ways that Mr. Mister and I place value on our relationship.