Lazy Sunday

This recipe is from my dear friend Michele who is a haute mom, three times over! Thank you Michele for your inspirational recipe that truly is the definition of Lazy Sunday.

Cheap Chicken

1. Slap 2 pieces of chicken with skin on a plate.

2. When your husband asks if you are having anything with it, like sides, tell him to peel it and then he will have a side of skin.

Let me know how this works for all of you.

Haute Mom Dilemma #9 ~ All Parents Are Not Created Equal

I am a mom. I am not a pro and this is the first time I have been a mom. The only knowledge that I have is what has been passed on to me by others and research I have done on my own. I would consider myself a somewhat intelligent woman, but I'm no Dr. Spock. I do what I can for my baby girl and sometimes that may mean pushing mey bladder to the limit or skipping a meal...or two. So here is my question: Why can't dads do the same? What is up with the expectations and things that we do for our children yet their own fathers cannot? My mom explains it as a mother's instinct but I do not buy it. Before I go on here, let me just say that I do believe that my husband does more than many other fathers. At least I know he does more than my own father did around our house. He takes care of most dinners (we eat out all the time). chips in with the household cleaning, and I even got him to fold laundery last night at midnight. That being said, I still have some things to drop off for the complaint window. What's the deal with the selfishness?
Here are some examples:
Example #1
Me: Honey, can you take Stella for me while I use the restroom please?
Hubby: Sure, but I need to go to the bathroom so let me go first.
Example#2
Me: I am glad you are home. I have some work to do before I go to my meeting. Can you take Stella for a bit so I can get it done?
Hubby: Well I am really tired. Stella kept me up last night while you were feeding her. I need a nap.
Example #3
Me: Can you change the baby's diaper while I get her bag ready?
Hubby: Really? I already did you a favor by watching her this afternoon.
(Yes, haute moms, that is no joke)
Example #4
Me: Honey, you need to take the baby now so you can give her a bottle. She is hungry.
Hubby: I don't need to do anything. I will take her but I don't have to if I don't want to.

This may not seem like a big deal but let me tell you. This type of behavior on a weekly basis is frankly getting irritating. I may have given birth to my child but she is not just my child. I stay home with her all day long and don't always get to do whatever I feel like doing because I have someone more important now. Why is it that the hubby feels as though his needs are more important than our daughter's? I told him this morning that he was going to have to repeat Dad Duty 101 because he is in danger of failing. I am not a maid, a housekeeper, or a babysitter. I am not the only one in this house that can or should be taking care of our baby. Sometimes moms need a break too! And news flash hubby...a babysitter or grandparent is not the only person who should be able to do that! I am tired! I am tired of holding the baby while I eat just to watch you finish your meal in peace. Sure, go ahead and scratch your belly and watch TV while I try to cut my meat with my spoon because I don't have enough hands to pick up other utensils. I am tired of nursing our child to sleep while you snooze and snore on the bed next to me! You are soooooo lucky that my hands are busy otherwise I may just smother you with a pillow. If I hear "Well if I could breastfeed her i would..." one more time then I might just have to put that lovely breastmilk in your coffee one morning when you aren't paying attention. Let's face it, if you could, you would still make me do it. Parents are 50/50 and not 80/20 just because I happen to have given birth or have other body parts that happen to come in useful as a parent. Give me a break! Haute moms...let's hear it! Tell me I am not alone here!

Haute Mom Dilemma #8 ~ Financing Baby

Money always seems to ba a sore issue among couples. In fact, it is one of the main things that couples fight about. I know at my house, money always seems to be an issue. I love the lifestyle that I have with dining out 6-7 nights a week, going to concerts, and shopping but becoming a mom has not been so haute on my Gucci wallet. There are so many endless things to buy and I am not just talking about the daily items like diapers. Stella is three months old and I spent over $200 at Babies R Us yesterday purchasing clothes that she will grow out of in a month along with other things. It seems every time she hits a growth spurt or monthly birthday there is something else that I think she needs! Not having time to cook means the dining out bill is really growing and now I am starting to go back to work and have nanny costs to save for. Unlike many of my friends, I do not have family close by that I can leave Stella with so except for a few close friends, when Sean and I want a night on the town, we will have to pay sitter fees as well. I know there are many great discount sites out there from which us moms can purchase fun items for baby at a discount. There are also many things that can be done to lower costs, such as making your own baby food instead of buying jar. What else is there? I know you saavy moms out there have learned lots of great things so please share the sites. the tricks of the trades, etc. with me! I have a daughter so I already need to start saving for her wedding!

On a brighter note. I mentioned POSHmommy in one of my last blogs and they have generously given all of you followers a 10% off code so that you can purchase your own POSHmommy jewelry or gifts for other haute moms! Let me know what you buy!
1. Sign on to POSHmommy http://www.poshmommyjewelry.com/
2. Select your jewelry
3. Enter code "mizkel10" at checkout!
The code expires Oct. 23, 2010 so have fun!

Lazy Sunday

I was so lazy last Sunday that I didn't post my Lazy Sunday recipe! Go figure...I love this recipe that is good for anyday and it involves one of my favorite things, the CROCK POT!

CROCK POT ROBUSTO CHICKEN

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bottle Italian dressing (Seven Seas Robusto or Newman's Own works well)
1 lb bag of egg noodles (I sometimes switch this up with whole wheat penne)
4 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Put chicken breasts in the crock pot and pour bottle of Italian dressing over the chicken.
2. Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 3 1/2.
3. Remove chicken breasts and leave crock pot turned on, stirring in 1/2 the sour cream until dissolved.
4. Cook the noodles and drain. Add the remaining sour cream and cheese to the noodles and mix until dissolved.
5. Serve the chicken over the noodles. Pour the warm Italian dressing over the top. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

Let me know your thoughts on this haute moms!

Haute Mom Thrifty Thursday

One thing that I love as a haute mom is jewelry. A blue box from Tiffany's is always welcome in my house! I was lucky enough to receive a special piece of jewelry from The Ellen Show when I went on her Mother's Day segment. The designer is called POSH Mommy and they make personalized jewlery for moms, dads, and even kids! Some of their best pieces allow you to engrave your baby's name on it and even add their birthstone! I have the Loop necklace with Stella's name, birthdate, and birthstone. I wear it everyday and it goes with everything - casual or dressy! The prices are reasonable for a quality piece of jewelry that is made of sterling silver or 14 karat gold. You can add pieces to your necklace or bracelet with each child. They even have pieces for the baby boys and dads! I think this would be an amazing gift for another mom or something wonderful to hint to your hubby about! I am definitely looking for my next POSH Mommy item at http://www.poshmommy.com/!

I have talked to someone about giving the Haute Mom followers a discount or even possibly a jewelry piece for a giveaway so be sure to be a follower of Haute Mom and a Facebook supporter of POSH Mommy! Stay tuned for more details...

Here is a picture of me on my birthday with my Loop necklace! Please do not try to count the candles...



Check out their Facebook page on which they featured a picture of me and the family! Thanks POSH Mommy!
http://www.facebook.com/poshmommy

Haute Mom Dilemma #7 ~ Finding My Way

Three months ago today my life changed forever. All of the advice and research I have done could not have prepared me for the adventure I was about to embark on. Long gone are the days of being a 30-something married person without children. Here are the days of diapers, coupons, and "who is gonna watch the baby?" Although I love my daughter more than anything in the world, I cannot say this has been easy. I am now questionning all those new moms who are bright-eyed in their skinny jeans who claim being a new mom is all roses. No it isn't - they cheated and hired a nanny. The past months have been like flipping through a deck of cards and never knowing what was going to come up. Along with being a new mom I have dealt with a thyroid cancer scare and the death of a brother-in-law. The worst part of this is that so many of my so called "friends" don't even know because I have lost them as part of the casualties of motherhood. Some of them don't bother to call because they assume I can't go out, they are too wrapped up in their own lives, or they simply don't like my little new party of Kelley plus 1/2. I have some friends that haven't even bothered to ask about Stella in weeks. On the brighter side, I have found out who my true friends are, some I never would have guessed. I have two amazing friends who "don't like kids" that have been with me every step of the way and embraced my baby girl as if she were their own - thank you Heather and Sheila. I have a wonderful new group of fellow mom friends who have been amazing and supportive, more so than I could have dreamed of - thank you Emily, Joanna, and Alyssa. I have the usual support group who just check in on me regularly to see how things are going - thank you Robin, Rikayah, and Hollie. I recently had one friend from college offer her nanny to me so that I can get a break to deal with this problem I have been having lately called the baby blues-thank you Masy. I was blown away! Lastly, Stella has brought me closer to my family and my husband who do their best to make sure I have some "old me" time. My husband just sent my girlfriend and I to a Styx concert! Oh yeah! I am finally starting to feel like this new road is somewhat familiar although there are always bump that happen along the way. The true amazing thing is that this perfect little being has so much power inside of her to help an adult like me see true friends, bring family together and realize what things really matter in life.

Happy three month birthday Stella! I love you!

My bff (a.k.a Love Bug) and I at Styx - thanks to my husband

Haute Mom Thrifty Thursday

I have noticed one significant shift since becoming a mommy and that is my shopping habit. I used to search stores and the internet for Gucci bags, Christian Laboutins, and Hudson jeans. Now my pocketbook itches when I see a Babies R Us coupon or a sale at Carter's. My husband just reminded me how I wished for a boy but seem to have fully recovered through retail therapy and dressing my baby girl. I assured him the clothes shopping thing would have happened regardless. One of my favorite things to buy for Stella are Sassy toys. They are fun and bright and are made for age and development. Each toy is geared towards working on an aspect of development for your baby such as touch, exploration, vision, and so on. I have recently found a great website to buy these toys on at a discounted price which brings me to Thrifty Thursday. The website is Kids Surplus and has clothing, shoes, toys, books, you name it! The Sassy toys I like can be found anywhere from 30-60% and so can many other things! Enjoy Haute Moms!

http://www.kidsurplus.com/

Lazy Sunday

Happy Sunday Haute Moms! So if you didn't read my post last Sunday, the idea of Lazy Sundays is to share a quick and easy recipe that will allow us moms to continue our Lazy Sunday and still enjoy a family meal.

A few of you shared last week that you enjoy going to dinner on Sundays so try this dish out on another day of the week! I got it from the Food Network! The thing I like about this dish is that it is easy and the ingredients can be easily modified. I will sometimes add chicken or shrimp or I will switch up the snap peas with asparagus or green beans. This recipe is a great one for those of you who like to walk through the local farmers markets. It is great with fresh ingredients! Share your recipes and let me know what your thoughts are for those of you who try this out!

PAPPARDELLE WITH SNAP PEAS

Cooking time: 30 min. Total time: 30 min. Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 bunch scallions, cut into 1/2-in. pieces
• 1/2 pound sugar snap peas, roughly chopped
• 1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 cup roughly chopped parsley
• 1 bunched fresh chives, thinly sliced
• 1/2 pound pappardelle pasta (about 8 oz.)
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese or grated pecorino

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallions, snap peas, jalepeno, salt and cook, stirring until soft, about 4 minutes. (This is where you would add in the meat first if you are choosing to add some).

2. Meanwhile cook the pasta in the boiling water al dente. Reserve 2/3 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and toss with the vegetables.

3. Pour the reserve cooking water into the skillet and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Bring to a boil and whisk the butter until it melts, then cook until reduced slightly, about 2 minutes. Pour the sauce over the pasta and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheese and toss. Top pasta with the remaining cheese and serve.

Haute Mom Thrifty Thursday!

Hey all haute moms! In celebration of Worldwide Breastfeeding Week, Udder Covers is giving away a free breastfeeding cover! Simply enter the code "Breastfeeding" at checkout. All you have to pay is shipping! These haute covers allow you to discretely breastfeed in public and are made in great haute fabrics! I already have one but ordered another; I mean what haute mom doesn't need more than one accessory for her many nursing excursions? Not breastfeeding or past that stage? Get one to give as a gift or to use with your next little one! Enjoy!

http://www.uddercovers.com/

This is the one I ordered!

Haute Mom Dilemma #6 ~ Time to Make Time

Well Haute Moms, I am sliding into my third month mark where I am told things should be so much easier. We have formed somewhat of a schedule type looking routine. Breastfeeding has become second nature - and happy World Breastfeeding Week by the way. Stella has been sleeping through the night since the 4th of July with her shortest stretch being five hours and her longest being eight. We even tackled the OC Fair this week and the little angel slept the entire time. I mean, who can complain? I can, yup, you can always count on me. Having lunch with a good mommy friend yesterday, we were discussing the issue of daytime naps. Here is the deal. I have a wonderful little sleeper at night. She sleeps in her own crib and goes down with little to no problems. Why aren't I satisfied? This would all be very useful if I were nocturnal but I am not. During the day we are seeing naps less and less, and shorter and shorter. That's what is supposed to happen so I can deal. What I cannot deal with is the fact that my little munchkin's favorite place to nap is not in her crib. Nope. Uh-uh! All day long and pretty much through the evening, my little babe likes to snooze on my chest. That's right, not her crib, or her swing, or her vibrating chair, or even on a nice soft cushion on the bed, but on my chest. How can I get anything done? That whole theory of napping when the baby naps or getting things done while the baby sleeps doesn't work out this way (well actually the naps do if I find a safe and creative position). The laundry doesn't get done, the dishes are still in the sink. and the bed isn't made. Heck, I am blogging right now while she snores away on my chest. How can I transition Stella into another sleeping area so that I can have some time to do other things? It is time to get things done around the house ladies cause let's face it - the husband unit is not. I will save that for another time. I have tried letting her cry herself back to sleep in the previously mentioned places and contrary to my mom's generation of "they will cry themselves to sleep", she does not. She fusses, and cries, and then wails, and then screams. Then the tears come and that beet red face and the sweat comes on. Next thing you know the dog is pacing and child services has been called. I am just joking about child services - don't judge me. I do have a Moby that allows me to do limited chores while acting as a Sealy mattress for my child but there are things that need to get done without the chest addition. Like shower for example!! And no...I have not showered today yet thank you very much. Is there a magic slumber chair that might work? Slumber dust maybe? It is time to make the time for me to be a good wife by at least getting the basic chores done. I can't be a haute mom when the dust bunnies and growing into dust buffalos. I could open a dust petting zoo here for goodness sakes! What worked for all of you?

Nap time in the Haute Mom household:

Lazy Sunday

So I'm enjoying my usual Sunday confused by what Sundays have actually become now that I am a mom. In the past, Sundays were referred to as Sunday Fundays in which we would start the morning off by drinking and spend the day drinking, ended with drinking. We would watch whatever sport happened to be playing and act like this was the whole reason for the celebration knowing full well that nobody cared about the teams or the score or anything else. Now that I am a mom, Sundays are traditionally "family days" right? You know, the day when families go on outtings and bond or whatever you are supposed to do. Sundays are supposed to be relaxing and calm where nobody is working and all the errands have been done. Lazy Sunday that ends with a nice big family meal. Stop the music! This is what I don't get. How do you end a lazy Sunday with a nice big family meal? Isn't that the opposite of a lazy Sunday when you have to shop, prep, cook, and clean?! How does this work? This revelation of the irony of lazy Sunday has lead me here. I am going to post an easy recipe that moms can cook with little to no time or prep so that they can achieve their lazy Sunday while still holding to the traditional Sunday family meal. If you have a recipe comment on this post and next Sunday I will bring you my first Lazy Sunday recipe. Hopefully each week we will all have a collection of easy meals that us haute moms can use every day, and not just on Sunday!