Busy Mom Soapbox

Our family is a big fan of BYU.  So of course my daughter would request a BYU cake for her birthday.  We got inspiration from this cake.  We had fun making it and can’t wait to dig into this.  I used the Yellow Cake recipe from Wilton.com.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup butter or margarine
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans and line with waxed paper or parchment paper. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Cream sugar and butter together until light. Add eggs and vanilla to creamed mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Continue beating one minute. Spread batter evenly in prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Fill and frost as desired.

Chocolate Frosting

The recipe for the frosting was taken from allrecipes.com

Pardon the confectionary sugar on my hands

Taking off the extra fondant

Tonight, after putting the babies to bed, I ventured out into the dark night alone and headed over to the grocery store. I had my coupon book in hand and was excited to see the deals they had this week. It was double coupon day and I surely wanted to take advantage of this. I have to admit that in the recent months, I’ve been clipping coupons I thought I was going use. The next time I opened my coupon binder, it was time to pull out those same coupons. I was in a coupon saving slump! After researching the deals, I set aside the coupons I would use and I was on my way, up and down the aisles. Some killer deals I got were Airwick refills, Big bonus bottle of Listerine, Frosted Mini Wheats, Nutri Grain Bars, big container of Lysol wipes. After an hour and a half, I decided I was done. I waited patiently in line at the check out and the dollar amounts kept climbing and climbing to over $85.00!!   I gave the checker my Fresh Values Card and coupons which automatically doubled them. My subtotal came out to $30.08. The total number of items purchased, 30!!! I couldn’t believe that all this stuff was about $1.00 each. Not only that, but I also received 10 cents off in fuel rewards!

I can’t wait for the next sale so I can get that “couponing high” again!

If you need tips on how to get started with couponing, here’s a link to a previous post.  Couponing 101

Over the weekend, I really wanted cheesecake. Buying one from the store can be a little expensive. So instead, I bought the ingredients and made one at home! I recently made a No Bake Cheesecake using food storage items. I found it on everydayfoodstorage.net and put my own twist to it.  Yep, you read right. Food Storage! The next thing that comes to mind is, “Was it good?”  It was delicious and so much cheaper than store bought cheesecake.  I had graham crackers in my cupboard so I made the crust as well.

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cup finely grounded graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup white sugar

6 tablespoons soft butter

Combine ingredients with a mixer and bake at 375 degrees for 7 min.  Let cool

Cheesecake

1 cup powdered milk

1cup sugar

1/2 cup hot water

1 tablespoon butter

Blend very well until you get a creamy and smooth consistency

1 (8 oz.) softened cream cheese

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 can of pie filling (optional)

Blend all the ingredients in the blender. Turn blender to low and add the vanilla, lemon juice, and cream cheese. Gradually increase the blender speed, until smooth and creamy. (you may have to stop the blender once or twice to scrape down the sides). Pour into prepared crust.  Chill in the fridge for at least 1 1/2 hours.

Cherry Cheesecake

Have you been scared to try and make your own baby food?  I was until I saw a friend make it and it turned out to be so easy.  I make easily digestable foods like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and green beans.  You get a weeks worth of food for TWINS at a fraction of the price.  Homemade baby food is also packed with more nutrients and freshness.  This is a great way to also make those dollars stretch on a tight budget.

Here's what you need: vegetables, fruits, and storage containers

The storage containers I used were plastic freezer jars.  They are perfect for baby food and the tops all snap on top of each other.

Today I made sweet potatoes and applesauce.   Sweet potatoes are high in Vitamin A, beta carotine and potassium.

Wash and scrub your sweet potatoes then cut them lengthwise.

Place the sweet potatoes in aluminum foil with 2 Tbls. of water.  Wrap them up and place in the oven set at 400 degrees for about 45-60 min.

With it being summertime, I didn’t want to heat the house up for than I had to.  So I made applesauce using 3 Golden Delicious Apples.  Apples are easy to digest for those little tummies, and lots of fibre.  Plus babies love them because it’s so sweet.

After washing the apples, I chopped them and removed the core.  I added in about  1/3 c. of water and put them in aluminum foil.

I set this in the pan with the sweet potatoes.

Depending on the size of the sweet potatoes you may have to them

every 10 min. after the 45 min. mark.

Tender and Juicy

When you’re done you have smooth applesauce and a healthy batch of sweet potatoes.

Spoon that homemade goodness into your storage containers and pop them into the freezer until you need them.

The finished product!

Using 3 sweet potatoes and 3 apples, I was able to make at least 10 healthy meals for TWINS!

I have had to do some research on scanners and I think they are one of the best things ever invented.  They make life a little easier for those that use it on a daily basis and de-clutter the office!  Here are some things I have learned.

Digital Storage has become more popular. Its so easy to scan images like documents, receipts, and photos. Scanned images help decrease security and clutter issues that many offices and homes face. Many scanner applications contain easy-to-use software to create pdf files or upload automatically to Microsoft programs. One user has even said that his scanned photos are even better than the original because of the greater quality it delivers. You can find scanners in brands like Canon, Fujitsu, Xerox, and Kodak.

What Type of Scanner Should I Buy?

Buying a scanner can be quite overwhelming. Usually the more buttons on the machine the better right? Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when looking for the right scanner to meet your needs.

What is the scanner to be used for?

High volume scanners can scan rapid speeds of over 120 sheets per minute in black and white, grayscale, or color. Even images can be scanned at an impressive 250 sheets per minute. You might find these types of scanners in business offices or banks to reduce the amount of paper. If you plan on scanning large volumes of documents, then speed, quality, and efficiency is a must.

Desktop or flatbed scanners are often used for personal use. You can find an inexpensive scanner and still be able to get great resolution. Many people use scanners to make copies of photographs to preserve the integrity of the image. Over time colors will fade. This is a great way to maintain memories digitally.

What is your Budget?

Choose a dollar amount and look online for the best deal. Be careful not to get a scanner with features that you’ll never use. You may also want to keep in mind about service plans along with your scanner. Canon Service Plans are ideal.  For a little more money you can have the peace of mind that if something goes wrong, you will either receive a replacement part or even better, a new scanner!

Customer Reviews

Before making your choice, be proactive and see what other customers thought of the scanner you’re about to purchase. It’s great to read whether they love, like, or hate the product before making your final decision.

If you have a Mac, is the software mac-friendly? Was there helpful technical support available? Does the scanner device have a difficult time with paper jams? Customer reviews can be a wonderful tool to aid in deciding what scanner is right for you.

Here is a great site I found with loads of scanners to choose from with service plans all on one site!

Who knew there would be more than one use for Maalox, an anti-acid to neutralize and reduce stomach upset.  The babies have had a bad case of diaper rash and Desitin didn’t fix it alone, even when I added in baby powder.  So I made a diaper rash cream that included Maalox and it’s been working like a charm.  I’ll post pics of it soon!

1/2 tube Desitin non-creamy formula

2 Tbls. Baby Powder

1/4 c. of Maalox

1/8 c. of Vaseline or Aquaphor

Mix all the ingredients together and add more of the powder to thicken or more maalox to get to the consistency you want.

Voila! The finished product.  I store it in the fridge when I’m not using it so the cold cream will soothe the baby’s bottom.

I have on been on a little hiatus since having those precious babies.  I have learned to make Homemade Wheat Bread!!  Not only is it actually delicious, but it’s good for you.  In fact, my kids were the ones that used to take the crust off store bought bread.  Now, they eat everything!!  I no longer buy bread from the store and make 2 batches a week!  I can make this recipe all white, or add in as much or as little wheat as I want.  Gotta love it!!I got this from a great and resourceful site called Everyday Food Storage.net  go and check it out!

I have searched far and wide for a book to guide me through the trials of getting twins to sleep with the same schedule.  Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins was just released earlier this month by Marc Weissbluth.  So far, I’m taking some of his teachings and methods and have seen a huge difference in the way the babies sleep.  Who knew that sleep begets sleep?  My sons are 7 months now and have been sleeping through the night at 6 months, and lately they can take naps for up to 3 hours!!  Even with those long and re-energizing naps they are able to sleep through the night for 12 hours. It’s been fantastic for them and for me.

I cannot believe how quickly time has flown.  Our family has grown from 5 to 7 people.  Juggling time with the 3 big kids and the twins I’d have to say is one of the hardest things to do as we adapt.  We finally got to take the babies home the day after Thanksgiving.  My morning started off with hitting the Black Friday sales at 3:30am.  I got killer deals at Wal-mart.  That afternoon, the doctor called and asked us if we were ready to take the boys home.  Oh were we ever!!  I was well rested and recuperated from the delivery.  (It could not have gone any better!)

I do have to say, we’ve been lucky that having 2 babies to take care of is not as scary as I thought it would be.  I thought I’d include some tips that have helped me stay sane along the way.

• Feed the babies at the same time – With the babies in the NICU for a few weeks, they were not willing to take the bottle.  It was my plan to nurse them, but I did the next best thing, I started to pump.  It works out well since I know exactly how much they are taking and I can have helpers.  Now that they are 2 months, occasionally they will nurse.
• Sanitize Sanitize Sanitize – We sanitize our hands everytime we hold the babies.  Since we had winter babies before and in the midst of RSV season, we used the sanitizer for a few weeks and just got laxed about using it. These preemies have to stay healthy during RSV season to avoid a trip to the hospital. The nurses advised us that when the older kids get home from school, they should change their school clothes.  Germs stay alive for 6 hours.  I have to say this has seemed to help, but double the loads of laundry!
•  Sleep when the babies sleep – I’ve read this many times in the baby books.  But this one is definitely a keeper.  I admit I’ve tried the super mom thing.  It lasted for a week.  Then a couple of weeks later, I got mastitis.  It’s an inflammation in the breast and quite painful with flu-like symptoms and sometimes fever.  The onset happens in just a few hours and a trip to the doctor is needed.  Not the funnest thing to drag 2 newborns to the doctor when you have the chills and feel achy.
• Stock up on diapers – I am so glad we did this.  Not only did we stock up on different sized diapers, we got boxes and boxes of wipes.  The hospital sent us home with 6 packages of diapers but changing them 8-12 times a day, they didn’t last as long as we hoped.
• Postpone Visitors – As much as I’d love to have friends meet these little guys, our family decided to wait a few months to introduce them.  The nurses put things into perspective when they explained things to us.  You may come in contact with someone that is sick.  They come and go, but  you’re stuck with having to deal with the babies crying all night, or a stay at the hospital.

I’m taking this journey with twins one day at a time and learning along the way.