QOTW: April 20-24

So, I didn't put up a question Monday or Tuesday mainly because we've had such little participation. If you have a question that you'd like to share, please email it to mayflowersmoms@gmail.com.

QOTW: April 13-17

Sorry about not putting this up yesterday. I was substitute teaching and completely spaced. :) Anywho, here's this week's question.

In looking back over the past year with our LO's, is there anything that you would do differently? Not something you necessarily regret, more of just something you would change.

The one thing I can think of that we did when DS was a few months old was try to feed him every single time he woke up at night. Then we'd get frustrated when he'd only eat an ounce of formula and fall back to sleep. He had passed his birth weight and only needed to eat once or twice, not five or six times. What the heck were we thinking? I realized after a few weeks of this that he just needed to suck on something. So, we would give him a pacifier sometimes and he would just go back to sleep. Silly new parents.

QOTW: April 6-10

Happy April! Here's this week's QOTW:

How are you feeling as DC's birthday comes closer? Are you feeling sad about it? Excited? Anxious?

I'm starting to feel a little nostalgic about DS's first birthday. I can't believe he's already going to be one. I feel like we just brought him home from the hospital. It makes me a little sad just because time is going by so fast, but it has been really fun watching him turn from a baby into a little boy.

Wednesday Recipe Share

I found this great site for spring recipes. Check it out! Also, due to lack of participation with the recipe share, I'll be putting it on hold until we get some submissions. If you have a recipe you'd like to share, please email it mayflowersmoms@gmail.com. Thanks!

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/family/specialfeature/spring_outdoor_ms/

QOTW: Mar 30 - Apr 3

Well ladies, it's the last QOTW for March!

What sort of activites are you looking forward to doing with you LO as the weather gets warmer?

I'm really looking forward to more park trips and eventual trips to the beach. We are also going to spending a lot of time swimming in pools this summer. We've already been spending a lot more time outside than we did earlier this year.

~Leslie :)

Wednesday Recipe Share

Happy Wednesday! Here are some links to Passover recipes for a Jewish members.

http://www.koshercooking.com/Recipes/passover/index.html

http://kosher4passover.com/recipes.htm

http://www.epicurious.com/recipesmenus/holidays/passover/recipes

Enjoy!

Mommy/Baby Spotlight

This week's Spotlight is shining on Alison (Bartsgirl) and Benjamin:

DOB: May 5, 2008 at 7:07 am (A cinco de mayo baby)

Wt: 5lbs 11oz

length: 20 in.

Here is Alison's story:

Benjamin was due June 15, 2008...Father's day! However, he decided that he was ready to come out 6 weeks early. May 4th at 8:00pm I stood up in our family room and SPLOOSH! I looked at my husband and said, "I did not just pee myself. I think my water broke." I ran into the bathroom in complete shock and yelled for him to get me the phone so I could call the after hours line. The nurse told me to get to the hospital because if my water had broke the baby was coming. I was completely freaked out. I didn't even have a bag packed yet. So, my husband ran around the house like crazy packing a bag and we got to the hospital by 9pm. Once we arrived at the nurses station I broke down crying. I was so scared and just couldn't hold it together anymore. They put me on Magnesium to try to stop my labor. They hoped to stop it for a day or two so they could give me steriods to get his lungs stronger. After 5 hours it still hadn't stopped and I was 6 cm. But 6:30am I was 10 cm. At 7:07 am Benjamin Bartholomew was born a large 5 lbs 11oz and 20 in long. Benjamin was whisked to the Special Care Nursery where he spent the next 9 days. My little boy finally came home on May 14th and it has been a whirlwind ever since! Benjamin is now 19 lbs 14oz and 28.75 inches. He is a happy, precocious little boy, and the light of my life.



Thank you to Bartgirl and little Benjamin for sharing their story with us this week!!!

QOTW: Mar 23-27

After a long few days with DS, the question this week just popped into my head.

What sort of things do you do to help you de-stress and unwind after having difficult days with DC?

My favorite thing to do is honestly sleep. I love to take a nap and I honestly feel much calmer and relaxed after I can catch some shut eye. I also like to read or be crafty when I have the time.

Birthday Tips

This week's tip will be on decorations.

What type of decorations will you be doing of for DC's party?
Are you going all out and decorating to the nines? Or is simple more your scene?
Where are you getting your decorations?

Comment with you ideas and answers.

Wednesday Recipe Share

Rather than post one single recipe today, I did a quick search for Easter recipes for kids. Here's a site I found with a ridiculous amount of Easter recipes. http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/special/specialfeature/easter_recipes_ms/

Next week, we'll focus on Passover for our Jewish members. Then, we'll look at just some fun spring recipes. If you have any recipes that you'd like to share over the next few weeks for Passover or spring, please email them to mayflowersmoms@gmail.com! Thanks!

Need Mommy/Baby spotlight info

We are in need of another Mommy/Baby to spotlight for next Tuesday. Please email two pictures (newborn and recent) and information about birth date, ht/wt, funny story or labor story, etc by Monday, March 23 to mayflowersmoms@gmail.com. Thanks!

Easter Crafts

I don't know about you ladies, but I'm excited for when DS can do crafts with me. I've been looking for crafts that I can do with him for Easter, but being that he's so little, I'm coming up short. I did find a bunch of crafts that will be super cute for our little ones when they are older. Here's the link: http://www.parents.com/holiday/easter/crafts/

Here's another fun site for a cool Easter craft to do with our babies! http://jas.familyfun.go.com/crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=12147

QOTW: Mar 16-20

It's already the middle of March! Here's this week's question:

I've noticed on the Bump that many moms are getting professional pictures done for not only 3,6,9, and 12 months, but also for many holidays. I'm talking about Valentines, St. Patrick's, Easter, etc.

What pictures are you or have you gotten professionally done? What are your opinions on them?

My answer:
I've only done 3, 6/Christmas, and 9 month pictures done. I will be getting his 1 year pictures done as well. I don't think there needs to be professional pics for every single occasion that there are greeting cards for. I will be taking pictures at a St. Patty's Day party I'm having with my playgroup on Tuesday, but I just can't justify spending that money. Now I guess if I were sending out cards for every holiday, maybe, just maybe I would consider a cute professional picture of DS.

Next Week's Ideas

Hello ladies,
Since St. Patty's day is next week, we thought maybe on Tuesday we could post St. Patrick's day pics of our LO's. If you will just send an email to mayflowersmoms@gmail.com with the pic, your name (SN is fine) and your LO's name. Then check back to see all of our lil leprechauns.

Also, since Spring is just around the corner, we were thinking of doing some recipes for Easter/Spring on Wednesdays for a while. So if you have any recipes that you would like to share please send them to our email.

If anyone has any ideas or tips to add please email us. Have a great Thursday!

Thanks ladies,
Heather (ugabrat)

Birthday Tips

So, it's March already and our babies are coming on up on their big day! Let's start sharing some ideas and tips to help each other plan their parties. This week, I want to focus on invites. I've noticed that there are lots of questions on the Bump about invites.

Invites:
Are you making them yourself? If so, how are you making them?
Are you getting them made? If so, where are you getting them done?
Do you have any cool ideas for the design?

Answer below in the comments!

Thanks!
Leslie

Wednesday Recipe Share

Thanks to Kim for this week's recipe share. I know I love me some spinach and artichoke dip. Yum!

"It's an appetizer, but this recipe if a fav of all my family. I make it at every holiday and it's gone before I ever get a bite!"

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

1/2. Cup Frozen Spinach
1 Cup artichoke hearts
8oz. cream cheese
1/2. Cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Salt and Garlic powder to taste.

Finely chop the spinach and artichokes. Boil in 1 Cup water for 10 minutes to make sure they're soft. Drain well. Microwave cream cheese for 1 minute or until soft. Add everything together and serve!

Mom and Baby Spotlight

This weeks spotlight is featuring me! MrsD_111106 or Leslie as I'm known in the real world and my wonderful son Nathan.

Nathan was born at 3:12 pm on May 8. He weighed 8lbs, 9oz and was 20 inches long.

The day that Nathan arrived started at 2:30 in the morning. I suddenly woke up with a strange pain and I knew right then that my water was starting to break. I somehow leaped out of bed and ran into the bathroom where my water broke just like in the movies. Brad was awake the minute I jumped out of bed and started getting dressed. I called my parents and my mom came right over. We were in the car by 3am headed for the hospital. It was really great timing since the hospital I was going to deliver at was about an hour away and I was so worried that we'd hit rush hour traffic. During the car ride, my contractions started and were 3 minutes apart. After having zero contractions to having one every 3 minutes was pretty bad. It was like I was induced.

Once we got to the hospital, we were sent to the triage area to check that I was really in labor (water broke, so duh). The contractions were so intense that they made me throw up, which is not fun while in labor. We got moved up to my room after about 30 minutes of paperwork (why do they have you sign so many papers during contractions??) and exams. I requested and epidural and the angel of a man who was my anesthesiologist showed up almost immediately.

During the course of my labor, they discovered that there was meconium in the fluid and I started getting a fever. Luckily I was able to sleep while I labored. I get to 7cm when the doctor started some pitocin. My contractions were starting to become irregular and Nathan was having trouble staying down in the birth canal. The pit worked for about 5 minutes, and then would start to wear off just like my own natural contractions.

After 12 hours of no amniotic fluid, the doctor said I could continue the pitocin for an hour or deliver by c-section. I suspected this would happen as it has for almost all of the women on my mom's side. We're a little crooked up in there so Nathan wasn't coming down straight and couldn't cause my cervix to dialate enough. We chose to do the c-section while Nathan was still showing a strong heart beat and not in distress.

Within 20 minutes of getting prepped for delivery, we had our beautiful baby boy. Because he came down crooked, he had a pretty big bump on the side of his head where it was pushing down. It's gone now, but it made his hair all crazy for a while. The only complication I had after the surgery was fluid in my right lung that appeared about a week later. I guess it can happen when you're stuck in bed for a few days. That was a whole other stressful ER visit.

Nathan is now 10 months old and a crawling machine. I'm cherishing every day I spend with him while I'm on leave from teaching. I have to go back in August and every minute is precious to me.

The picture on the left is Nathan while we were still in the hospital. Look at that head of hair!






The picture to the right is Nathan during our attempt at his monthly picture in February. It has proven to be quite difficult to get this picture now that his so mobile. :)

QOTW: Mar 9-13

Thanks to the anonymous commenter on last week's QOTW for this week's question. It's very appropriate after last night (DS was awake from 2-4am. Fun!). :)

Anyone's baby recently changed the sleeping schedule?

Here's my answer:
DS has suddenly had some pretty drastic changes in sleep. The last few nights, he's been having trouble staying asleep and I keep finding him whimpering while sitting up in his crib. He's also been having a bit more trouble falling asleep on his own during naps. I used to be able to just lay him down and give him his blanket. He would pull the little thing over his head and conk out. The past week, he's wanted me to rock him and not leave the room. Good times. Hopefully he's teething or going through a growth spurt or something because I do not like this change one bit.

~Leslie (MrsD_111106)

Wednesday Recipe Share

Hello out there......anyone....Bueller....Bueller. But really, we haven't gotten any recipe suggestions lately, so this will be on hold until we get more suggestions. mayflowersmoms@gmail.com

QOTW: Mar 2-6

Wow! It's March already! Where has the time gone? If you suggestions for questions, please email them to mayflowersmoms@gmail.com. Here's this week's question:

Have you started planning DC's birthday party yet? If so, what type of party are you doing - big, small,etc?

My answer, as usual:
I just started planning Nathan's party this past week. We are planning on having a relatively small party at a local park, just bbq kind of stuff. We have a pretty big family, so it may end up having quite a few people at it, hence the park. We'll probably just get regular old party decorations, but nothing too fancy. I'm not really into a big gigantic theme party for a 1 year old, but to each their own!

Mommy Baby Spotlight Update!!

We did not receive any emails in mom's interested in being part of the Mommy/Baby Spotlight for yesterday's blog entry. Due to this I will extend the deadline to send in your email with picture of you and baby and information to Sunday, March 1, 2009.
Please submit your photo and information to mayflowersmosms@gmail.com

Wednesday Recipe Share

Apparently, Mexican food is a favorite amongst us May Flower Moms. This recipe is a favorite of mine that I got from Campbell's soup. Yum!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

From: Campbell's Kitchen

Prep: 20 minutes
Bake: 40 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or 25% Less Sodium)
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
1 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
2 tsp. chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken **I use cooked rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 4 ounces)
10 flour tortillas (6-inch), warmed
1 medium tomato, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 green onion, sliced (about 2 tablespoons)

Directions:

Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in a medium bowl.

Stir 1 cup picante sauce mixture, chicken and cheese in a large bowl.

Spread about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam-side down in a 3-quart shallow baking dish. Pour the remaining picante sauce mixture over the filled tortillas. Cover the baking dish.

Bake at 350°F. for 40 minutes or until the enchiladas are hot and bubbling. Top with the tomato and onion.

QOTW: Feb 23-27

Well, here is our last QOTW for February. Were is the time going??

Has your little one reached any milestones this past month? Anything else you'd like to share?

As usual, I'll go first! Nathan sat himself up for the first time last Tuesday which then rolled into a little bit of crawling. As of today, Sunday, he is a pro at sitting up and crawling. Where did my little baby go??

Birthday Buddy List Repost

Hi everyone,

I don't know about you, but I'm already thinking ahead to Nathan's first birthday. Ahhhhh!! Anyway, I though I'd post the birthday buddy list again since it was first posted way back in January. Can you believe it's almost March?! I'm also working on birthday buddy badges for our siggies if you are interested. I just have to figure out how to do them. :)

Also, it would be great if we can start sharing ideas, websites, etc about your LO's birthday party. We'll be doing a party suggestion on Thursdays starting in a few weeks. Please email any suggestions to mayflowersmoms@gmail.com.
******************************************************************************************

May Flowers Birthday Buddies

Birthday Buddies: A Birthday Buddy is someone that you can share a Happy Birthday note with but the person doesn't necessarily have the same birthday as your child. If you want to exchange cards or a small gift that is up to you and your buddy... Also, this person can be there for you to share ideas with and chat with on upcoming events. And maybe even help you to remember invitations to be sent, cake to be ordered, etc! Support for each other!

**I’ve included the birthdays of your kidlets after your names.

iHeartJoe (1) & TheSkimmy (2)

softballgirl24 (2) & avz2azb (5)

BartsGirl (5) & joecubed (6)

LukeAndAmanda (6) & flygeah (7)

Abby’sMommy (7) & 1MusicMaker (7)

MrsD_111106 (8) & cpinto13 (9)

BrahimBride (9) & KristenS04 (9)

Babygroves (10) & B* (10)

ChelseaBelle (11) & Swannja (13)

SammyluvsJ (13) & wendyj (14)

AnnetteWalker (16) & anna7602 (18)

JaysGrl32903 (18) & jenbowman (18)

newmommymay08 (18) & BriAndSean (20)

mommajen8 (21) & Mustang Sally (22)

kLuVsS (22) & Howie-n-Kelly (22)

lukeslady05 (23) & IckyThump (23)

tonysbride2b (23) & MrsP825 (23)

kandp (24) & ugabrat@yahoo.com (24)

Stacyc625 (25) & mollyosmom (26)

SenoraKristin (26) & ironmommy (30)

CreamPuff06 (27) & CoastieWife08 (27)

megan&jay (28) & Jettaky (29)

Heather R (29) & Kateysomething (30)

ABMcKinney (30) & raceyrae (30

lizable11 (30) & destea1 (4)

jgft878 (11) & eliotsmuse (6)

christine100606 (20) & kgrl21 (18)

tahoe_heldmans (22) & Fordlor (23)

christine100606 (20) & mrs.george2be04 (18)

**If you would like to be added to our birthday buddy list, add a comment below with your nest name, your DC's name and birthday.

Wednesday Recipe Share

Thanks to Christine for this week's recipe share. If you have a recipe that you'd like to share, email it to us at mayflowersmoms@gmail.com.

Mexican Tortilla Soup!!

This makes an entire crock pot full:
1 Rotisserie chicken
2-32 oz containers of reduced sodium chicken stock
1 tub of Jack's specialty salsa. It is in a clear tub w/ blue label. If you dont have Jacks ( I am in MI) then use any thick and chunky salsa you like. I prefer the gourmet salsas that are at my grocery store.
1-2 jalapeno's (depending on how hot you like it)
handful of cilantro
1 can on pinto beans
3 cans corn (you can mix it up and use 2 cans yellow and 1 can white corn if you want)
corn tortillas
Kraft Mexican cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to crock pot (minus the cheese and tortillas).
Before serving cut tortillas in strips, place on baking sheet, brush lightly w/ oil and place in 400 degree oven and toss them about every 5 minutes until brown and crispy. Serve soup and sprinkle on crispy tortillas and cheese Enjoy!!

Topic Tuesday

I know that we have all read the posts about STTN and many of us may have babies that do this. I do not have a baby that STTN, but he only wakes up once so I am lucky on that. I was thinking over the weekend that I would love to get advice on how you have handled your child STTN? Does your child STTN? Did your child STTN and now doesn't? Or are you like me and your child doesn't STTN and you have just learned to adjust?

What advice has helped you to get through those rough patches (if any)? Or do you have tried and true advice to getting your child to STTN?

Remember, next Tuesday is our next Mommy/Baby Spotlight and if you are interested please email us with your information and pictures.

Thanks Ladies!!! Have a great day!




Hi5, Xanga, Tagged, Blogger Comments @ 123glitter.com

QOTW: Feb 16-20

Good morning ladies!

Here's this weeks QOTW:

How have you changed since becoming a mother? Mentally, spiritually, however you want to take it.

I find that I am much more patient now than I ever was. I'm definitely taking more time to appreciate little things like snuggling with Nathan when he falls asleep. He's getting so big now that it's hard to fit him sideways with me in our glider. I love to just sit and watch him figure things out and discover. I've also got a whole new empathy for parents that I never had before. When I'm at the store and a kid is losing it and crying, I used to get a little annoyed with the parents for not keeping their kid under control. Now, I definitely feel for the parents rather than feel annoyed now that I've been in that same situation.

~Leslie (MrsD_111106)

Wednesday Recipe Share

Thanks again to Wendy for this week's recipe!

White Turkey Chili

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 onions, chopped

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 lbs. lean ground turkey

1 can chicken broth

2 (4 oz) cans diced green chiles

2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained

2 tbsp. minced fresh cilantro

salt & pepper to taste

*Heat oil in large soup kettle over medium-high heat. Cook onions until tender, 4-5 min. Stir in garlic powder, cumin and oregano; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add turkey; cook until it loses its raw color.

*Pour in broth and chiles; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes

*In a small bowl, mash the drained contents of 1 can of beans, stir all beans and cilantro into soup; simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

*Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream.

Mommy & Baby Spotlight

This is our second Mommy & Baby Spotlight, and our spotlight is shining on Kimberly and Joey (bump name: iHeartJoe). Joey was born on May 1, 2008; he weighed 6 lbs 4 oz and was 20 in. long. Here is Kimberly's story:
We got off to a rough start having a fairly traumatic birth experience and emergency c-section (developed pre-eclampsia and was induced 3 weeks early) , awful postpartum care in the hospital, and intense postpartum depression. I had my ideal birth experience in mind, but knew to be open and flexible because things don't generally go as planned. Even still, I had a really tough time accepting the c-section and still struggle with the feeling that my body let me down. But in the midst of all that we managed to get one thing absolutely right, despite lousy help from my nurses and LC's: breastfeeding. Joey latched and nursed like a champ within our first few feeding sessions and I finally felt like my body hadn't failed me and at least I could do one amazing thing for my son! We were literally forced to supplement with formula at the hospital, which we instantly stopped once we were home and I was able to continue feeding my baby boy while he continued to grow and thrive! He is at his absolute sweetest during feedings and I love our snuggle time. I'm proud of myself for being able to stick with it this long and love the special bond that we have, in part because of this special part of our relationship.


We would like to thank Kimberly for sharing her story with us and for the picture she submitted.

Our next Mommy/Baby Spotlight will be on Feb. 24th (Wyatt's 9 month birthday) so please send in your submission (with info and picture by the 22nd). You can email us at mayflowersmoms@gmail.com

Have a great day!!

QOTW: Feb 9-13

Happy Monday Ladies! Here's this week's QOTW. If you have an idea for QOTW please e-mail it to mayflowersmoms@gmail.com.

What are some things that you find yourself doing with DC that you swore you never would?

I swore that Nathan would watch no tv, none. However, I've discovered that the Backyardigans are a lifesaver when he will not settle to drink his bottle. He can be like an anaconda when I try to feed him, so I pph that show since the music really helps him to relax. He also loves Oswald and the music breaks on Noggin. I think I may have a future tv addict on my hands.

~Leslie (MrsD_111106)

Wednesday Recipe Share

Thanks to Heather for this week's recipe. If you have a recipe that you'd like to share, please email it to: mayflowersmoms@gmail.com

CHICKEN NACHOS

What you need:
2-4 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
3 cans of Rotel (diced tomatoes and chilies)
Jalepeno Peppers (sliced in a jar)
Lemon Juice

1-2 cans of Black Beans
1 head of Green Leafy Lettuce
Large bag of Mexican blend cheese
Sour Cream
Corn Tortilla chips
(all ingredients above can be purchased organic (except the rotel), but just do what you can, the more organic
ingredients you can get, the more fresh and clean it all tastes)

Put chicken in crock pot on low in the morning with:
Lemon juice
1 can of rotel
Jalepeno peppers and juice
add water if needed, you want the chicken to be completely soaked so that it doesn't loose it's moisture
When time to prep for dinner put chicken in a bowl and shred with a fork, it should fall apart really easily
Put rest of ingredients in separate bowls and get ready to build...Chop lettuce into bite size...

Building plate from bottom to top:
chips
chicken
black beans
cheese
THEN STOP AND HEAT UP TO MELT CHEESE
...CONTINUE WITH
Rotel tomatoes
lettuce
sour cream
peppers if desired

Tuesday Tips:

I know we have all been given advice/tips/suggestions as to how to raise your child, take care of your child or parenting in general. Today, let's share the best advice/tips/suggestions given and by whom.

We are still taking entries for the next Mommy/Baby Spotlight, please submit a picture and information to: mayflowersmom@gmail.com

Have a Terrific Tuesday!




Hi5, Xanga, Tagged, Blogger Comments @ 123glitter.com

QOTW: Feb 2-6

Thanks to Wendy for this week's QOTW!

Have the fears of being a parent that you had during pregnancy subsided? What are some new fears you have now that your baby is getting closer to a year old?

As usual, I'll go first!
During my pregnancy, I was mainly worried about my skills as a mom. I didn't know how I would handle everything. My fears have definitely subsided. I had no idea how naturally some things came to me. Now, I worry about a lot of thing. I worry about whether or not I'm doing enough to stimulate Nathan's mind. I worry about having to put him in daycare in August when I go back to work. I worry about something happening to me, DH, or him. I just can't believe our babies are coming up on a year old already! I want him to stay little forever. :)

~Leslie (MrsD_111106

Wednesday Recipe Share

Thanks to christine100606 for this great recipe. It sounds delicious!

"This recipe is so amazing I just had to share it!! I wish I could say this is my recipe. I own the Ellie Krieger cook book and this is her recipe!! I am not sure if recipes have to come from a blog or from where ever....so here ya go!! ;)"
~christine100606

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• A pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 1/4 pound top sirloin steaks cut 1-inch thick
• 12 small corn tortillas (5 to 6 inches in diameter)
• 3 cups shredded red cabbage
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 2 cups Avocado Lime Salsa, recipe follows

Directions

In a small bowl stir together chili powder, garlic, cinnamon, salt and cayenne pepper. Rub spice mixture on both sides of steaks.
Grill or broil steaks for 5 to 6 minutes on each side for medium rare, turning once. Remove from grill and let meat sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Carve into thin slices.
Warm tortillas by placing them on the grill, for about 30 seconds, turning once. Or place 6 tortillas at a time between 2 moist paper towels and microwave for 45 seconds. Wrap in cloth napkin or place in a tortilla warmer to keep warm. Place the carved steak, warm tortillas, cabbage, cilantro, lime and Avocado Lime Salsa in serving dishes and let diners make their own tacos at the table.

Avocado Lime Salsa:

1 large cucumber peeled, seeded and cut into chunks (about 2 cups)
2 avocados, cut into chunks
1/2 red onion, diced
2 limes, juiced (about 1/4 cup)
Salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
2 jalapeno chiles, chopped, plus more to taste
Place cucumber, avocado and onion in a large bowl and add lime juice and salt. Add cilantro and chiles and toss gently.
Yield: 2 cups (1 serving is 1/3 cup)

Recipe Share

We are planning on featuring different recipes or your favorite recipe blogs/sites every Wednesday. If you have a favorite recipe that you would like to share with the group, please email us (mayflowersmoms@gmail.com).

MOMMY & BABY SPOTLIGHT

This will be our first Mommy & Baby Spotlight and our featured Mommy & Baby: wendyj & Baby Ian

Ian was born on: 5/14/08, weighing 4 lbs 8.5 oz and measuring 17.5 in

The best advice I got was to not take everything about motherhood so seriously (gotta love my Mom!). Reading into every little thing will do nothing but drive you to insanity, and you'll miss the wonderful things happening between you and your baby. I had a tough first couple of months, first by ending up back in the hospital right after Ian and I were first discharged, then with breastfeeding, and Ian's time with colic. I seemed so paranoid about everything that my mom finally told me to relax and enjoy my son. Oddly enough, that seemed to snap me out of my craziness.

Here is some advice from Wendy on colic, breastfeeding and postpartum:

Colic - don't be afraid to take a break from the craziness, even if it means putting him in his crib and walking away for a few minutes to compose yourself. Actually, I just read in Dr. Ferber's book last night that letting them cry in their crib for a few minutes is a good thing because the babies with colic may actually be overstimulated and also need time away from although the cuddling and rocking and such. Go figure?

Breastfeeding - If you can't, it's not the end of the world. I actually gave up breastfeeding at about 8 weeks because I was not really producing anything, and because I was still getting my blood pressure down and getting over my c-section, I really felt like I had nothing left. Making the decision to stop was probably hardest thing I've ever done. I felt horrible for weeks afterward. But as I started to follow my mom's advice (from the last email), and let the stress that I was feeling over it all go, I started to really connect with my son. We weren't fighting each other anymore. Those middle of the night feedings became a bit more special because I was actually able to snuggle him and enjoy that closeness. And knowing that he was gaining weight and growing like a weed after starting out so tiny, I knew I was doing the right thing for him

Postpartum - Let all the craziness out! I had no clue I was going to feel and think all that I did after I had Ian. I cried at least 3 times a day, for seemingly no reason at all. Thankfully, I have a wonderful, compassionate husband who just let me be irrational and cry on his shoulder. It also helped to talk to my mom and friends who were also mothers and dealt with baby blues...Also, don't overdo it right out of the hospital. I had a c-section, and there were days that I thought I felt OK, so I would do things that I normally did before having Ian. Big mistake. I would hurt for hours later because of just going down to the basement to do laundry.

First picture is Wendy & Ian when Ian was a month old and the second is Wendy & Ian during the holidays:





Wendy,
Thank you so much for sharing with us! You are truly remarkable.

For those that are interested in participating in the next Mommy & Baby Spotlight please email: mayflowersmoms@gmail.com!

Have a Great Day!

QOTW: Jan 26-30

I hope you all had a great weekend. Here's this weeks QOTW:

What sort of activities you do with your DC throughout the day? What kinds of things would you like for him/her to be do that you currently don't?

As usual, I'll go first! Nathan loves his Jumperoo and he likes to play in that for short times. We also play on the floor together and go to play group. It's been a lot of fun playing with him since he learned to sit. He's working on the whole crawling thing so once he does that, my day will most likely consist of me chasing him around the house. My parents live about 5 minutes away, so he has lots of interaction with his grandparents. I would love to take him to Kindermusic, but the times are a little tricky to make it. If we had a Gymboree that held classes, I would love to do that too.

Leslie (MrsD_111106)

Mommy and Baby Spotlights

Starting next Tuesday we will be doing a spotlight on Mommy and Baby. This will be done every other Tuesday and all we are asking is that you either leave a comment or email: mayflowersmoms@gmail.com with the following information:
1. Name of Mother and Child (screen name if you don't want to reveal name)
2. DOB for child
3. ht/wt at birth
4. A funny story, heartwarming, advice that you were given that you felt has helped the most or just anything you would like to share about Mommy and Baby.

Also, please include a picture of baby and mommy.

This week please have these in by: Sunday Jan. 25th!

Email Address for Thoughts, Questions, Ideas, etc

Hey ladies,
We have created an email address for you to send any thoughts, questions, ideas or anything else to.
mayflowersmoms@gmail.com

If you want to send suggestions to make our blog better please do so!

Great Answer

Mere7706 posted this on the Bump today. It's a great answer to why friends with kids have no time. Enjoy!

Newsletter Ideas?

Do you ladies have any ideas for our monthly May Flowers Newsletter?

One idea we have had is to include a section about Mommy and Baby. If you would like to be considered could you please give us a picture of you and your little one from the first few days. Also, a description of you and baby and what you enjoy, foods, milestones, etc.

If you have any other ideas, please leave them in the comment section as well or email to ugabrat@yahoo.com.

Any Events or Milestones You Would Like to Share?

Do any of you have any news you would like to share? Has your DC hit any new milestones (not just textbook ones)?

Do you have a blog?

I was thinking that it would be neat to link to our personal blogs, if you have one. Let me know in a comment and I'll add a blog link list to our page.

QOTW: Jan 19 - 23

So May Flowers, here's our first Question of the Week (QOTW)!!

Tell us a little about yourself. How many kids do you have? Where do you live? Anything else that you'd like to share...

I'll go first!

I'm 27 - I'll be 28 on May 1 so I'm a May Flower myself. DS is my only child for now. I live in Southern California just north of San Diego county. I teach middle school science, but I'm currently on leave until August. It's going to be very hard going back to work after being home with DS for over a year.

Okay....your turn! Just add a comment below!

~Leslie

May Flower Birthday Buddies

I am totally copying the June Bloom moms by making this blog, but it's so much easier to update than using the nest (still refuse to call it the bump). Anyway, here's our birthday buddy list. :)
******************************************************************************************

May Flowers Birthday Buddies

Birthday Buddies: A Birthday Buddy is someone that you can share a Happy Birthday note with but the person doesn't necessarily have the same birthday as your child. If you want to exchange cards or a small gift that is up to you and your buddy... Also, this person can be there for you to share ideas with and chat with on upcoming events. And maybe even help you to remember invitations to be sent, cake to be ordered, etc! Support for each other!

**I’ve included the birthdays of your kidlets after your names.

iHeartJoe (1) & TheSkimmy (2)

softballgirl24 (2) & avz2azb (5)

BartsGirl (5) & joecubed (6)

LukeAndAmanda (6) & flygeah (7)

Abby’sMommy (7) & 1MusicMaker (7)

MrsD_111106 (8) & cpinto13 (9)

BrahimBride (9) & KristenS04 (9)

Babygroves (10) & B* (10)

ChelseaBelle (11) & Swannja (13)

SammyluvsJ (13) & wendyj (14)

AnnetteWalker (16) & anna7602 (18)

JaysGrl32903 (18) & jenbowman (18)

newmommymay08 (18) & BriAndSean (20)

mommajen8 (21) & Mustang Sally (22)

kLuVsS (22) & Howie-n-Kelly (22)

lukeslady05 (23) & IckyThump (23)

tonysbride2b (23) & MrsP825 (23)

kandp (24) & ugabrat@yahoo.com (24)

Stacyc625 (25) & mollyosmom (26)

SenoraKristin (26) & ironmommy (30)

CreamPuff06 (27) & CoastieWife08 (27)

megan&jay (28) & Jettaky (29)

Heather R (29) & Kateysomething (30)

ABMcKinney (30) & raceyrae (30)

lizable11 (30) & destea1 (4)

jgft878 (11) & eliotsmuse (6)

christine100606 (20) & kgrl21 (18)

tahoe_heldmans (22) & Fordlor (23)

**If you would like to be added to our birthday buddy list, add a comment below with your nest name, your DC's name and birthday.