Lemme Upgrade Ya!

In case you didn't know, I'm a Crowd Tapper (click the button in the sidebar) and a member of the Old Navy Style Council. It's not just a fancy title, either. I am totally an ambassador.  I'm veritably swagtastic.  And I got to upgrade my style for the summer with Old Navy's white jeans.  Plus, I got to bring a friend!

I'll let the pics do the talking.

I received a coupon for me and one for a friend.  I immediately called my bestie and off we went!

In case you didn't know, Old Navy has a fit for every shape: There are six in all, the four I named plus the Rock Star and the Dreamer.The rise on the Rock Star was too low for me and I didn't see the Dreamer. After perusing the display, I decided to try four fits: the Diva, the Flirt, the Boyfriend, and the Sweetheart. 

We took our finds to the dressing room.

 Then it was dress up time!

The Flirt: They hugged every curve and had a bit of a lower rise.

The Boyfriend: a bit straigher than I like my jeans, but a nice fit. They were my second faves.

The Diva: My third fave, I just thought the fabric felt a bit thin.  I think they had a higher stretch material content.

Cheese!

 

The winner: Sweetheart!  The rise was perfect, the fabric comfy (not too thin and followed my curves without being too tight) and the cut was sassy. The Sweetheart is perfect for curvy girls like me. Here I am in the crop version, though I got the jeans that day.

While there, I downloaded the SnapAppy app and snapped away.  I totally scored a $5 coupon and used it to buy a Tami Tank!  Woot woot! Here's my final outfit.

I plan on picking up a few more Tami Tanks and the Sweetheart crops this weekend.  Thanks, Old Navy and Crowdtap!

Day 49: Happy Seven Weeks!

 Popcorn is 7 weeks old!
My little snuggle bug has been here nearly two months!  She is quite the little roller now and has to be watched carefully.  It gives the big kids something to do.  She is really a joy!  I don't want to wax on poetically about how much my Snugs (that's what I call her because she is such a snuggly little baby) but she really is a sweet baby.  She goes to sleep around 12 or 1 am and doesn't wake up until 7 am. That's right; 6-7 hours every single night! The best thing about this is that the school kids leave at 6:20, but Side Salad doesn't get up until 8ish so it's our special time for her to cuddle and nurse uninterrupted.

Already a fashionista!

Popcorn is starting to fit in Side Salad's old dipes which is a plus. I do have a few girly dipes on the way for her-an AIO and 2 fitteds. I'll post pics when they get here.  I'll post a stash pic then, too.  Here's a preview-her in a little Thirstie's warm stripe cover that matched her outfit perfectly.  I'm serious. This little outfit had yellow bloomers but the diaper cover looked even better so I ditched it.  I think it's much cuter this way-don't you agree?


We live a pretty chill life.  She's usually hanging out in the ring sling. It gives her a primo view of the world and my arms a break. I don't know how I raised kids with out it. We've been trying to get out a bit, going to the zoo and parks a lot.  P has heinous cradle cap-all the way down to her eyebrows-and sunshine seems to help it quite a bit.   Today we went to a local park and discovered that it had a splash pad!  Win!  I know where we'll be in the mornings this summer. I say mornings because the heat index 'round these parts gets over a hundred. My summer plan is park or zoo in the mornings, library in the afternoon (books and free a/c),  stove-free dinners in the evenings. I actually found a fantastic new recipe involving rotisserie chicken and yummy tomatoes at Publix this past week. We'll be eating it tomorrow for dinner.  I'll post it below!

Tomato Chicken Stack Salad from Publix

Ingredients
12–15 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
1 small shallot, finely chopped
4 large red and yellow (or heirloom) tomatoes
1 Deli chilled rotisserie chicken (plain or flavored)
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive (or avocado) oil
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta, goat, or blue cheese 

Prep

• Slice basil; chop parsley and shallot.
• Cut tomatoes into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• Remove meat of chicken from bones and chop coarsely (2 cups).

Steps

1. Prepare dressing by whisking vinegar, oil, Italian seasoning, pepper, parsley, and shallots until well blended.
2. Arrange salad on serving plates, alternating tomato slices, chicken, basil strips, and crumbled cheese. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

CALORIES (per 1/4 recipe) 400kcal; FAT 32g; CHOL 110mg; SODIUM 380mg; CARB 11g; FIBER 2g; PROTEIN 23g; VIT A 20%; VIT C 60%; CALC 10%; IRON 10%

What's your favorite no-cook recipe?

Day 36: AP-gotta say my piece

By now, I'm sure you've seen this:

It is for a piece on attachment parenting from next week's Times.  

What's Attachment Parenting?

Attachment parenting is a phrase coined by Dr. Sears that describes a parenting philosophy.  Basically, it means that you practice a child-led sort of parenting that focuses on making sure the child feels safe and secure.  Instead of reinventing the wheel, I'm just going to cut and paste the 8 principals of AP from Wikipedia:

1. Preparation for Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting
2. Feed with Love and Respect
3. Respond with Sensitivity
4. Use Nurturing Touch
5. Ensure Safe Sleep, Physically and Emotionally
6. Provide Consistent Loving Care
7. Practice Positive Discipline
8. Strive for Balance in Personal and Family Life

That is what guides attachment parents. How they interpret it is up to that family.  It can also change over time as the family changes.   Here is what AP can look like:

• co-sleeping/bed sharing/family bed
• breastfeeding 
• baby wearing
• cloth diapering
• homeschooling/unshcooling
• homeopathy/herbal remedies
• non-circumcision
• natural childbirth/home birth
• organic/local food
• non-vax
• etc

This doesn't mean all APs do all of these thigns.  I highlighted the ones I practice or have practiced.  The focus isn't on the practices, though. It's the guiding philosophy.  Again, the focus is the baby/child. There is no checklist or set of rules to being an AP


My Parenting
I subscribe to AP because of my beliefs about parenting.  God gave me these perfect little people.  He entrusted me with their care so I do my very best for them. Their needs are simple, though they can be confusing due to the communication barrier-I don't speak cry-so I have to listen to their non-verbal cues.  My kids come first to me.  I was an AP before I knew what AP was.  It is the simplest, most primal form of parenting. I keep them close and care for them the way that feels natural to me.. I protect them from harm, environmental or otherwise. I didn't hear the term until about 2 or 3 years ago, on Cafe Mom, but it described what I did to a T.


The Cover
I'm not a big fan of the cover as a picture but I understand the purposed. The woman is standing in an empowered posed.  It's meant to be provocative and to encourage dialogue, and by golly I did!  The same people finding issue with extended breastfeeding have no issue with those icky Hardee's commercials or beer commercials or any other exploitation of women's bodies.  I think the most interesting thing about attachment parents is that (in my experience) don't judge other parents. We parent the way that is right for our kids, our families.  We aren't telling other mamas what to do, yet many people feel it necessary to vocalize their utter disdain.  Then if we counter criticism with criticism, they get angry. If we counter criticism with research, they get angry. If we counter criticism by ignoring them, they get angry.


 I was interviewed by our local NBC affiliate. Here is a link to the article and the video clip is below.  In the clip, I am actually breastfeeding Popcorn at one point, but you'll miss it if you blink.  You can see Side Salad playing on a backhoe, too.

Foto Friday, or should that be Photo Phriday....maybe Foto Phriday?

Monday, which was President's Day, was a great day to spend with the kids at the zoo. I live at ground zero for schizo weather.  It's been in the 30s in for the lows and the 80s for the highs over the past week. Anywho, I took the kids to the zoo because we are supposed to have a maternity/family photo session but a scheduling issue arose.  I just wanted to share some pics of the kiddos. 

Crossing the bridge 

My girls

My sons

Squirrel

The squirrel in the mulberry

Giant chair

El Mariachi

My hatchlings

Penguin staring match

Kinda like Sonic, only not so blue.

Side Salad and the hedgehog

Time to go home

Which is your favorite?