Eight Plane Rides

Traveling with a baby is never easy.  But now, after two round trips (to opposite coasts), and eight planes and multiple airports later, I think I have a better handle on what to except when traveling and flying with a baby.

For our Christmas present from my father-in-law he flew us out to Massachusetts to visit family.  Then, my dad flew us out to California to visit my family a week after we got back from MA.  None of them were a straight shot, so it took two plane rides each way, each time.  To save money, we didn't purchase an additional seat for our baby, so she was supposed to be our "lap child".  Here is a list of things I've learned along the way...

1. What to bring?  We were staying with family so we'd have access to a washer and dryer.  This cut down a little on what we needed to bring.  Since it was during winter months I mostly packed sleepers and other warm clothes for the baby.  For a week to 10 day stay I packed roughly 10 sleepers and 3-4 pants and socks, and 4-5 oneises.  I also packed spit-up rags, receiving blankets, and regular blankets.  Additionally, I packed a towel and washcloth for her, baby soap and lotion, saline drops, bulb syringe, baby Tylenol, diaper cream, and of course toys.  I pumped for the first flight and I was going to bring my breast pump, but decided not to...actually, it didn't really fit.  So I took about 5 ounces of breast milk on the first plane ride.  Since it was breast milk the security screening people didn't give me a hard time about it exceeding the liquid ounce limit.  Oh, and of course diapers and wipes!  I grabbed a new pack of wipes and I packed about 10 or so diapers.  Since I didn't really have the space I decided to buy a small pack of diapers when we got there.  (That would out just fine.)

2. How to pack?  I checked with the airlines before hand and found out that we could bring her car seat (it's aircraft approved) and stroller (since it was a combo) for free.  We checked one big bag, then I had her diaper bag for me and her, then my husband had his backpack.  I actually think we probably could have gotten away with having one more small carry-on.

3. Not all airlines are created equal.  We flew 3 different airlines and some were better than others.  There is one we will try to avoid flying with at all costs.  Since we're starving students we wanted to save money by only checking one bag ($25 each time...).  Well that means I needed to get a lot of stuff in that one main bag.  Each time it was over the weight limit.  It needed to be 50lbs or less and it was always 53 or 54lbs.  The first 2 airlines let it slide.  The third airline said it would be an addition $90 (!) unless we took stuff out to make it weigh less.  So we took some jeans and shoes out and put them in the carry-on we were also taking.

4. Early Morning Flights.  Most of our flights were during the 6 o'clock hour.  It wasn't so bad, although we were waking up at 3:30 or so to make it to the airport in a timely manner.  And sometimes the airport was busy and sometimes it was dead.  The very first flight out the airport was dead, so we took our time and talked to the ticket person about seeing if we could sit where there wasn't a lot people (in case the baby went crazy during the flight).  Since the flight wasn't full, she was able to seat us where there were extra seats.  This was a bonus because we were able to take the car seat on the plane (instead of checking it at the gate) and the baby was able to be in her own seat and sleep.  Now, not all airlines will allow that (since technically we didn't pay for that seat), but if the flight isn't full, it doesn't hurt to ask.

To be continued...

Deep Dish Cookie

I saw this on Pinterest today and I thought, "I have a ramekin, flour, sugar, and chocolate chips.  I'll make this right now."  So I did.  I followed the recipe exactly as written.  I cooked it for one minute, and it tasted sub-par.  I'm not going to say it was terrible or inedible, but it wasn't good.  I didn't finish it, and I will NOT be making this again.  Perhaps it works for some people, but I am not one of them.  I guess I'll just have to stick to making the regular cookies in the oven.  I'm okay with that.  You can't win them all.  Although it would have been nice to have a single serving cookie every once in a while.

The Workout Woes

Okay, I actually don't have too many workout-woes.  I'm in the middle of doing Insanity, and I love it.  I started getting back in the saddle post-baby with Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.  I hadn't really worked out since I was like 7 months pregnant, so I needed something tame.  Now, I should point out that I'm usually in pretty good shape.  I've been working out fairly regularly since I was 16.  So, a friend recommended this DVD to me, and I gave it a whirl.  It is comprised of three "levels".  Each level is supposed to be progressively more difficult, and the workouts are only 20 minutes long.  This was perfect for me since I had a new baby in the house and didn't have time to get away to the gym.  The thing about 30 Day Shred is that there's no schedule of what you're supposed be to doing and when.  So I more or less came up with the idea that I'd do each level for a week, then whatever for the last week.  As it turned out, with timing and things going on in life, I did this for 5-6 weeks and did level 2 and 3 a lot.  It's certainly a nice starting point to get back into working out.  It's a nice little workout that gets your heart rate going (not a ton, but it's better then nothing).  I used 5lbs weights, and I was content with that.  I also saw results.  My arms were more toned, and my stamina greatly increased.  I'm not sure how much weight I lost, if any...maybe only a few pounds.  But that's probably more my fault because I didn't change my eating habits enough.  Oh, and that's another thing...it isn't until Level 3 that Jillian mentions the "diet plan" we're supposed to be following.  However, it doesn't exist...I looked and looked for it.  So maybe there was going to be a diet plan that went along with the DVD, but then they decided against it???  I don't know.

THEN, I started Insanity with Shaun T...and I LOVED IT!  (What am I talking about, I'm still doing it!)  Now this is a workout that's more my speed!  Is it difficult?  YES!  But I feel like I'm actually working stuff out!  It's longer then 30 Day Shred (both length of total workout and length of each individual workout), and I love that he takes time to really stretch your muscles.  Another small complaint I have about 30 Day Shred is that I was doing the same level over and over...the same moves day in and day out.  But with Insanity there is a set workout schedule and many different routines.  Plus, I love Shaun T...and I didn't love Jillian...for some reason it really bothered me that she rarely did the full exercise during the workout.  I think overall she did 1/4 of everything.  That got annoying...haha...but Shaun T is there working hard just like me and everyone else!  Insanity is not for beginners--at all.  But I think 30 Day Shred helped prepare me for Insanity a bit.  Some of the moves are the same (jumping jacks, high knees, butt kicks, etc.) but with Insanity it's MUCH more intense!  I'm defeinitely seeing results, and I totally feel stronger!  I love how I feel the rest of the day after I do the Insanity workout in the morning.

There is a diet plan with Insanity as well...in fact, it's really drawn out and specific...I intended to follow that too...but shamefully I haven't.  I've also had to start over because I encountered an unrelated medical issue in which I needed to stop for a week...sooooo...I started it over a couple weeks ago.  But I don't care, I love doing it.  I don't have my perfect body yet, but my abs are starting to look pretty awesome (if I do say so myself)...and I haven't had to do one crunch to get them!

Now I know blog posts are so much better when they include pictures...but I don't have any.  I always meant to take a before photo...but for one reason or another I never got around to it.  I'm kicking myself for not taking one, if for nothing else, my own vindication...I would love to be able to look back and see the change. 

That Costco Broccoli

Costco sells this big bag of already cut up fresh broccoli...it's pretty inexpensive, I think $4 or something like that.  With that said, my cute husband always was to get it with high hopes of using all of it.  Sadly, I have to report that 4 out of the 5 or so times we've gotten it, it's gone bad.  We don't use it in time.  All of our well-meaning plans go by the wayside.  And shamefully I have to report that ONE time we didn't even OPEN it at all before it went bad!  Yikes!  I know $4 isn't a lot of money, but still, we can't afford to spend so recklessly.  Anyway, now is such a time in which we have a big bag of Costco broccoli sitting in our fridge...we made steamed broccoli with our salmon one time, and that's it...it's just been sitting there.  Soooo I took to Pinterest to come up with ideas...actually this recipe just happened.  It is titled Broccoli Bites for Kids...I had all the ingredients in the house so I attempted to make them.  I must say, the directions were scant and unclear.

Overall, the ingredients are good...broccoli, cheese, breadcrumbs, etc.  So even though they didn't exact come out, they still tasted good because all of the ingredients together just work.

Here's what I will do differently the next time (yes, I'll make them again)...I will cut the broccoli into relatively small pieces.  I think that was one of my major problems...I couldn't make "patties" because the pieces were too bulky.  I actually cut them up partially before I started, but next time I'll do it way more.  I use mild cheddar because I don't really like cheese...but I can handle a little bit of mild cheddar.  I would put more breadcrumbs...oh and I used plain breadcrumbs and added Italian seasoning.  What I'll probably do next time is make my own breadcrumbs...I make at least one loaf of homemade bread each week, so I'd just take some of that, pulse it in the food processor, and maybe add a couple splashes of milk to the final mix.

I'll make these again.

Excess Avocados

One of my favorite things to do is to take all the weekly grocery ads, go through them, and make a list of all the things I could potentially want to buy.  I do this with the idea that I'll go to Walmart and have them price match these items.  I don't always get to Walmart to get all these items (for one reason or another), but I still love doing it.

 

With that said, I bought a couple of avocados (one of my favorite foods!) from Walmart.  THEN we went to Costco and bought 5 more beautiful avocados because the price was so right.  When we bought all of these avocados they were days from being ripe...then somehow they ALL became ripe within a day or two of each other!  So I needed to figure out what to do with them before they went bad.  We made salads a couple times with avocado on top, I made quick and simple guacamole (another favorite!), then I saw this recipe on Pinterest.  They are called Avocado Cream Cheese Puffs...and I decided to make them because I happened to have all (well, almost all) of the ingredients.  They look fantastic in the picture, so I thought I'd give it a go.

 Now the recipe is, in essence, puff pastry, mashed avocado, mango salsa, cream cheese, salt and pepper.  I read the blog and the blogger said her husband raved about them.  So, since I had ripe avocados begging to be used, I decided to try it.  Although, I must admit I was skeptical that it would really be that good...so instead of my precious puff pastry I used a rolled tube of Pillsbury Crescents.  I followed the recipe pretty closely...mashed avocados with a little salt, pepper, and lime juice, small bit of cream cheese, and salsa.  I made 8 total (from the tube), 4 with mango salsa, and 4 with regular salsa.  I cooked them at 375 for about 12 minutes.  Anyway, they tasted exactly how you'd think warm salsa, avocado, and cream cheese would taste.  Nothing special.  And the texture was just too much to get over.  And my husband, bless his little heart, said, "can I be honest with you?...I don't really like those crescent things you made."  =)  That's okay I didn't really like them either.  I don't love cream cheese to begin with so that wasn't great, and I really just couldn't get over the warm avocado taste.  So I will not be making them again, but maybe someone will.

The Great Wife

Ralph Waldo Emerson, taking from Goethe said, "Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become as should be."

I was watching this documentary on Netflix the other day about food, diet, and eating right.  It went into the idea that you can improve your health, well being, and seemingly your longevity through eating the right foods.  And at one point all of the "authorities" in the documentary agreed that LOVE is a key component to great health.  In fact, it is love of self that one needs to start with.  One of the doctor's said that she "prescribed" all of her patients an affirmation.  Twice a day they were to say out loud, in a mirror, "I love myself unconditionally right now."

This got me thinking...at the behest of my mother-in-law I started a new blog.  I created it months ago.  It's gone through various names, but nothing seemed quite right, until now.  I wanted a blog that highlighted all the things I do.  Now, I guess this should be the point in which I tell you, I don't really do anything special or extraordinary.  But I am a wife and a mother and a pinterest lover and a workout girl and a would-be scholar...and well anything I need to be.

Which brings me to my title, The Great Wife...let's face it, I'm not great all the time...but I try to be, and I'm great some of the time...and in the spirit of positive affirmations, I'll tell myself I'm great all the time.  So, why not name my blog something positive.  We are who we think we are.  Therefore, if I think (and tell myself) I'm great, then I'll be great all the time.

So this blog will document the things I do over here in the middle of the country.  I'll post recipes and workout information, crafts and kid updates...anything that I want the whole world to know about! 
; )