Sunday’s Kitchen Korner: Mocha Brownies

July 20, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Need something to impress the neighbours at this summer’s block party? Then look no further for the perfect desert! Here is a wonderful recipe submitted by Jerilyn Deschamps. Many thanks go out to her for this tasty recipe!

Mocha Brownies

mochabrownies What you’ll need:

4 squares Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate
1 ¼ cups butter, divided
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
¾ cup Maxwell House Café Suisse Mocha instant coffee mix, divided
1 cup pecans chopped

Frosting
3 tbsp hot milk
4 cups icing sugar

What do I do next?

brownies Line 13×9 inch baking pan with greased foil.  Microwave chocolate and ¾ cup butter in large microwave bowl on medium for 2 minutes or until melted.  Stir until chocolate is completely melted.  Stir in sugar until well blended.  Mix in eggs and vanilla, stir in flour, ½ cup coffee mix and pecans and spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out with fudgie crumbs.  Do not over bake.  Cool completely in pan and then cut into squares.

Frosting**

Dissolve remaining coffee mix in hot milk; beat in remaining butter until creamy.  Gradually add icing sugar, beat on low speed until well blended.  Let stand until frosting is spreading consistency, and then ice brownies.finished brownies

Tips

If using a glass pan reduce to 325.  Sift icing sugar before measuring.

**NOTE: Jerilyn has asked me to let you all know that the frosting is very sweet and she usually does not make it with the brownies.

Do you have a recipe to share with us? Please email erincarrasco@gmail.com including pictures and instructions on how to make your favourite dishes! Please also indicate how you would like your name to appear on the posting! Happy baking!

Filed Under: Kitchen Korner

Ultrasounds wrong? We all thought my nephew was going to be my niece!

July 18, 2008 By 1 Comment

So yesterday my husband and I went rushing to the hospital to see the newest addition to our family! With a little twist.

Sebastian Tyrell My sister had a fetal assessment at 36 weeks gestation and the ultrasound technician “showed” her it was a girl. Well folks it must have been the bum that she was shown because at 5:15 yesterday afternoon, my sister had a boy and not a girl!

After some serious back labour, a failed epidural (which they tried to administer at 10 cm’s–why and how they did that blows my mind) and 10 hours later her second son, and third child came into this world. They named him Sebastian Tyrell, and I’m so biased but he’s perfect! He was so alert when we went to see him!

So now they have to take all the clothes back that are pink; my sister didn’t go too nuts with buying pink stuff until they had the ultrasound because up until a few weeks ago, they had no idea what they were having.  And while you can put blue on a girl, you cannot put pink on a boy. I’m sure this is exactly why there are less and less ultrasound technicians revealing the gender, and to their credit, things are pretty squished around in there by that time!

So while his room is not pink, there are quite a few girly things in there that will have to be put away! It was amazing to think only 4 and a half months ago I was that person looking exhausted and in pain laying in that bed, while everyone cooed over my new son. I was happy to hold him while we were there and sooth him while he cried, but man I tell you I was happy to give him back to mom and dad when we left. And because of all of Dr. Karp’s wonderful methods, I’ve been designated the baby calmer! I guess I’d better teach her quickly the 5 S’s hey?

Well everyone enjoy your weekend!

Filed Under: Advice, Babies, New Mom

Top 5 baby Websites to Visit now that you’ve discovered you’re Pregnant

July 17, 2008 By 1 Comment

There are a billion and one websites out there for the newly pregnant woman, how to choose? Some are fantastic but most are littered with advertising. While it’s almost impossible to find a website with advertising, the following are some of my favourite’s for different reasons–and yes they all have advertising, some is a little more annoying then other’s but I digress.

1) BabyCenter.com

Baby Center Canada

Why I like it: Baby Center has different “center’s” for different countries all over the world. The American version has by far the most features and most in depth articles. It also has different features like polls and quizzes along with a “baby center store” that you can purchase things for your baby–Only available to US residents)

Pregnancy 8 weeks

I like the weekly emails you can get about your newly growing babe inside you! It tells you (and shows you) your baby is the size of a “lemon” this week and these vital organs are growing! I loved getting these email every week! These are available from the Canadian Site of Baby Center but they are not as in depth as the American ones. They have great message boards but I found they were too quick for me to keep up with. While I was still working during my pregnancy (yes–it’s true most pregnant women go online to scour the Internet for stuff about their babies–and completely zone out of some of their at work responsibilities) I found it hard to keep up with all of the gossip and news and tips from over 600 active (and who knows how many inactive) poster’s. Which leads me to why I like the next site!

2) BabyCenter.ca

Baby Center Canada

Why I like it: Well it is Canadian. The only problem with this site is that it get’s most of it’s articles from the UK site–including stats on health issues. So some of the lingo is heavily English (UK). So in North America Pants are things like jeans, slacks etc. and in the UK they’re underwear. Diaper’s are Nappies and other little subtleties. They offer the weekly emails about your growing baby–but I found them a little less informative then the American site.

8 weeks baby One bonus the Canadian site offers over the US site is that when you log onto their site the first page is the page that tells you how far along you are. The US site used to do that but now comes up with advertisements for their store and a whole whack of other things like articles, polls, quizzes. It is just too busy for me.

The best thing about the Canadian site is their message boards! I found so much support by joining my “birth club” for all mommies expecting the same month as me.  While you all have the same questions, you may not all know all the right answers. The thing that made our month so successful was that there was no such thing as TMI (too much information), and we were able to know that if someone felt it, most of us were going through it!

3) FitPregnancy.com

Fit Pregnancy

Why I like it: While I wasn’t the most fit person before my pregnancy, your eating habits most likely change and I became more health conscious during my pregnancy. This site has amazing links to really neat articles as well as more tips for each stage of the game! Check it out for safe work out’s while you’re pregnant. It also has exercises that help tone all those important muscles for labour and after baby is born! They also have a section on baby week by week and how your body is changing in those 40 weeks!

4) BabyZone.com

Baby Zone

Why I like it: Ok this is by far the most “tabloid” website. It has the most “quizzes” and has some numerology to find out what your child’s name might mean in terms of personality. What I liked about it was that it was fun! It also had a daily calendar that you could look up what stage you were at and it would have suggestions as to what to be interested in! It also gives you a time frame for when you should look into prenatal care, and informs you about perineal massage—I don’t think they should have dubbed it a massage.

milestone tracker

You can also look up your baby names that you have picked out to see what they mean and save them to a list!

Now that I’ve had my little one it has a very neat milestone tracker that you can track your child’s development over the months to see if he/she is hitting milestone goals! But other then that it has fun things like “is it a boy or girl” old wives tales are they true? Find out by clicking here to test it out!

5)MayoClinic.com

Mayo Clinic pregnancyPregnancy is a hard enough time as it is, with all the things that you are forced to worry about it’s nice to have an “official” source to see what’s safe and what’s not. If you’ve heard that Red Raspberry leaf is safe, is it? Check out the site if you have any questions about natural remedies or herbs that you need scientific backing for. They also have a Pregnancy Center for all things Pregnancy related. Click here to check it out!

The bottom line

A close call for my top 5 was this site as a fun site. From Justmommies.com comes a Labour Prediction Quiz! This is a purely “fun” quiz designed to predict how long your labour would be, how early, and the weight of your babe! While it was grossly off for me for the length of my labour and when I would go into labour, the size was about right! One out of three isn’t bad right?  I guess they didn’t want to scare me with a 23 hour labour!

I found these sites fantastic as a resource and still do now that I’m a mom! I’m still friends with many of the women I got to know online through the message boards, and with the invention of Facebook we’ve all grown quite close even though we live all over the country. My pregnancy would not have been the same without these ladies and their wonderful knowledge has made me a well informed person that is not in the dark. Often when you are pregnant you are going through so many emotional things as well as crazy bodily functions that it helps just knowing people understand what you are going through.

Your support group does not have to be online however, but make sure that you have an outlet. Pregnancy while amazing is a hard time. Find some people or someone that you trust and get out all of your pent up emotions. No one expects you to be perfect, and some times you can have some pretty conflicting and confusing feelings. Just know you are NOT ever alone in these!

Filed Under: Advice, Current Events, Mom, New Mom

How to get rid of Cradle Cap: the natural way!

July 16, 2008 By 3 Comments

What is Cradle Cap?

image Cradle cap is a crusting and scaling rash found on the scalps of many healthy babies. This often happens because of excess hormones that get passed to baby from mom (from the placenta just before birth). The sebaceous glands(see picture) in their skin are hyperactivated because of these hormones. These glands pump out a greasy substance that keeps the old skin cells attached as it dries.

You might notice the same condition around your baby’s ears or eyebrows, or even in his armpits and other creases. When it’s not on his/her scalp, it’s called seborrheic dermatitis.

When does it appear?

Cradle cap can occur in any baby, and most commonly begins sometime in the first 3 months. I think my son had it pretty early. (within the first couple of weeks)

What are the symptoms?

I’m going to be non technical, baby’s head kind of looks like it has scales on it. It’s dry and crusty or flaky. But it can get pretty bad and sometimes the crusty flakes can weep a bit. Yeah doesn’t sound too yummy does it! But generally it doesn’t bother your babe, if it get’s pretty bad it may become itchy. You can always talk to your doctor about it if you are concerned!cradle cap[1] If it get’s red or inflamed your pharmacist may be able to suggest an over the counter cortisone cream.

Is it contagious?

No.

How long does it last?

Usually it disappears between 8 and 12 months, if it does persist talk to your pediatrician.

Is there anything I can do?

Yes! Most of the websites recommend washing with shampoo more frequently to get rid of the oil that builds up and holds the dried skin on. But to me it doesn’t make sense to shampoo the crap out of dry skin! So I was reading up on various things to do for dry skin and I came across something that worked wonders for my son! (That’s not his head in the above mentioned picture by the way—but it looked pretty similar)

1)Olive Oil or Almond Oil

image At first I thought I was just supposed to leave it on, and bush his hair and shampoo the next day. After reading up on this, you aren’t supposed to leave it on for more then 30 minutes, because it can actually make the condition worse–remember it’s caused by excess amounts of oil trapping the dead skin onto baby’s head.  So I tried to brush it off, but not much dead skin came off. The oil is suppose to loosen the scales, and then magically they are suppose to be “brushed’ away. Well it didn’t work, and I hate the smell of olive oil.

2) Avocado

imageIn ancient times this was used as a moisturizer (very high in oils), so I thought what the hay, I’ll try it!  So I picked up a ripe one (firm but a little mushy) and cut it in half, and mushed it with a fork.

So I had help with this because it’s messy! I took my mushed up paste (my son looked more interested in eating it) and spread it on his head–he was NOT pleased when I put this pasty cold stuff on his head. So (after I washed my hands and my husband held him awkwardly–trying not to get it everywhere) I proceeded to cover his head with a cap (a little beanie one)–if you are going to do this I suggest using a cap you don’t mind getting dirty. I waited 20 minutes and then gave him his nightly bath.

It left a green hue on his head (where the dead skin was) and I took a toothbrush to his head–god doesn’t that sound evil? This probably made all the difference. As long as you are careful about how hard you press, the bristles are so much stronger then the baby brushes, that it actually got all the dead skin off! He didn’t seem to mind either, so I knew I wasn’t hurting him. All in all a huge cosmetic success!

The bottom line

Dominic Some people actually use avocado as a deep treatment conditioner, so I was not completely off my rocker when I decided to try this.  You can actually use this on your skin too if you have moisture issues. For us the Avocado worked better then the Olive oil, and I would do it again in a heart beat. One thing they do suggest is to brush your child’s head after his/her bath to make sure you get the dead skin off, so maybe investing in another toothbrush for their head isn’t such a bad idea!

I’m sure when my son get’s older he’ll kill me for posting this, but for now I’m still the mom!

Filed Under: Advice, Mom, New Mom

The fashionable Nursing Necklace

July 14, 2008 By 2 Comments

Is your baby destroying your boobs with their painful grip and sharp nails? Then there may be an answer for you to entertain them. A Nursing necklace is a fashionable piece of jewelry designed to “entertain” your babe while you nurse them.

Around 3-4 months babies become more aware of their surroundings and if you are breastfeeding, that means your boobs ladies. So while they’re chubby little hands are so cute, they’re quite another thing when they tear your boobs to shreds!

I came across this website when my son was a little over 2 months, and was just starting to explore with his hands. I decided that I would try these necklaces out and see if they would do the trick to keep his focus at the boob but not on my boob! Also babies are detracted by new sounds and sites, these are supposed to keep their attention to the task at hand!

Laughing Starfish Jewelry Nursing Necklaces

I found this neat site a few months ago and I have since ordered two necklaces. The woman who makes these necklaces is a stay at home mom (SAHM) which I always encourage others to support. She does amazing work, and I personally think that the 30$ (average cost) is not too much to pay for one necklace. Price ranges from (18.00-45.00$ USD) for necklaces and as low as 8.00$USD for earrings. Shipping isn’t very much cash either! Check out her shipping rates, I think I paid something like 7$ which is fantastic in my books!

Below is just a sample of her work:

image

Please visit her website for more selection. She makes necklaces, earrings, bracelets and matching sets! She has pictures of all the things you could possibly buy.

So what is the difference between a regular necklace and a nursing necklace?

There isn’t anything that really differentiates regular necklaces from these besides their ability to sustain a lot of grabbing! Babies love to grab our jewels around our necks! These necklaces have durable threads that allow your child to pull every which way and not shatter your precious jewels.

Some necklaces that you buy as nursing necklaces don’t seem to have the mom in mind, but these necklaces are beautiful and functional.

She does caution that they are not teething rings, and you should never let your child bite on them! That being said, you can get adjustable lengths (customizable at ordering time) of string depending on how long you want the cord of the necklace. This allows for you to make them longer or shorter depending on your child’s reach.

My experience:

Nursing Necklace I ordered two necklaces, I ordered the ones that I thought I would enjoy wearing. I would definitely order more things from her! They came very quickly (as an international order, I got my shipment within two to three weeks). The envelope came with stickers all over it, and each necklace came in a little pouch so that if I wanted to gift these purchases I could have done so. I kept both but think that these necklaces are fashionable and functional that I would definitely gift them for any expectant mom. Even if you don’t use them to distract your babe from destroying your boobs, or you child is disinterested, they’re still beautiful jewelry that you can actually wear out!

One of them was very long (as I ordered two different lengths on purpose) but I tied knots in the back of the necklace to keep them in place and higher up (I’m not a very tall person).

My son isn’t really interested in them as of yet, but I wear them out anyways. One of her points on her site is that children like the look of “real objects” versus the fake alternative. She gives the example of your car keys versus the toy ones, which one does your child prefer? The real ones! It’s the same deal with the necklace.

The bottom line

I’m just happy to know that if my son pulls on these necklaces I’m not scared of him breaking them! I see him release his “super strength” grip off of people’s delicate necklaces and I don’t have to worry about that with my fashionable ones! All in all a great experience. I can’t guarantee your child will be interested in them, but if you get one that you actually like wearing, the sky’s the limit!

Filed Under: Babies, Health and Fitness, Mom, New Mom, Product Reviews, Videos
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