Happy Halloween!

The night is finally here!! The night we get to set our little cheerleader and horse loose to descend on the neighbors and raid their candy. Ok, well we won't set them loose but they will be raiding the neighbors. All for candy and goodies that we seriously don't need in the house. Oh well, it's al for the fun of it and the experience. Halloween was one of my favorite holidays growing up. Getting all dressed in crazy costumes and going out with our cousins in the neighborhood. Even if it was 30 degrees out. We were troopers for sure! So I hope all of you who do go out have loads of fun, stay warm where the temps have dropped, and stay safe. You never know where a ghost or goblin will pop up!

BRRRR!!!

It's cold out there!!! Last week we were in the 70's and 80's. This week...the 50's and 60's. Taking Monkey to the bus stop this morning it was 41 outside. We had to bust out the winter jacket to stay warm. To backtrack a bit on Monday night I needed to run and do laundry since I didn't get it done on Sunday. I couldn't put it off another day either cause we seriously needed some clean clothes. One day soon hopefully we'll have one in the house but until then, it's off to the laundrymat. Course the night I go it's like 30 out and raining. Cold, wet rain. Yuck!! I always take Toots with me, especially that late so X can get to bed and I can feed Toots if need be. Since it was really nasty out I got out the Bundle Me that our friends got us as a baby present. I LOVE it!! Anyone who has dealt with infant seats know it is a pain in the hiney to get them strapped in with coats and such. Blankets will blow off with the slightest wind and no matter what their face/hands always feel cold. Not with this!

it's a super soft fleece bunting style that goes into the seat first. then baby goes in and gets strapped in. then zips up around them. No jacket required. He was so warm and cozy in there he passed out with in minutes. Definitely a great investment in colder climates!

Giddy Up!!

Mr. X thought this was funny last night. The cat....not so much. Toots? He could care less I think.

Burn Baby Burn

Did you know that Tator Tots can catch on fire?? I don't mean, yes they will blacken in the bottom of the oven. I mean they burst into flame, catch in fire, could burn down the house. Seriously. How do I know this?

Sunday night Mr. X made us dinner. His version of tator tot casserole which was good. I'll probably always make mine with green beans but I may add cheese in the future. Anyways, back to the story. Apparently while putting the dish in the oven he knocked one of the tator tots off and it fell into the bottom of the oven. Being the typical male, I'm sure there is a female or two as well, he didn't REMOVE it from where it fell. Yes, it got LEFT there.

Fast forward to the next night. I decided to make a chicken enchilada of sorts using some left over chicken, tortillas, and then enchilada sauce. I started the oven to get it preheated and started the enchilada sauce on the stove. It was one of those that you just add water and tomato sauce and heat it up.

So I get to cutting up the chicken and I start smelling like something is burning. Totally not even thinking about the oven I kept checking the sauce. Even wondering in the world I could be burning water and seasonings. Stranger things have happened I guess. Then it dawned on me....open the oven. So I did.

Out rolled black smoke. When it finally cleared enough to see there layed the offensive tator tot in the middle of the bottom. You know how coals have those glowing red embers when they get hot enough?? This looked like one of those. So I'm thinking there is no way I can just leave it there, it will only get worse. I so grabbed the metal tong things, slipped on the oven mitt and went oven diving.

I managed to snag the tator tot and started to pull it out. To my horror I bumped the rack and it fell back in. And rolled right UNDER the hot coil. With in less than second it burst into flames. It was burning like a marshmallow over a camp fire!! Now there really was no option to just leave it be as I had no idea what kind of damage an actual flame in an electric oven would do. So I went after it again.

Got it out this time and went to the sink....which had tupperware and bottles in it from earlier in the day. So with my flaming tator tot in one hand I'm frantically trying to move dishes to one side so I won't ruin any of them. I finally get it cleared and throw it in the sink. It's still flaming!! So hosed that sucker down as it hissed until it died out. So thats the story.....tator tots really do catch on fire. In the mean time I'm left with this...

Can you see the resemblence??? Brings a whole new meaning to burning dinner huh?? Now here is a real funny for you. You know your a true blogger when you see stuff like this and think "I need a picture so I can blog about it!". And your an Ebayer when you think "I wonder if I could sell that on ebay?" Hey, why not.....stranger things have been sold!

Just for fun

You don't have to be registered to listen to this. Just don't laugh too hard!



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Donating Milk

One of the girls in our playgroup had posted a notice that she had been approved to become a donor of breastmilk. After reading her story and doing a little research I thought "You know that's a pretty amazing idea!". For those of us who seem to have an over supply of milk, the likes of which we will NEVER go through ourselves, why let all that "liquid gold" go to waste. And in our household, if we keep up at our current pace thats exactly what will happen. I have upwards of 200oz in the freezer. Each day I pump in the morning and at while at work. I'm only working about 3hrs a day in the office so we only need enough for one 4oz bottle and since I can pump anywhere from 4-7oz at one pumping session....we get way more than we need.

Anyways, about a week ago I went to the company website and went through the extensive intial interview asking questions about all kinds of things from our history. Today, I got the email saying that we have moved to the next step which includes a sign off from both our physicians and then the physical exam, drug testing, blood testing, etc. If we pass all of that then we will be approved to become a donor and will be sent all the supplies for storage and shipping of what ever extra milk we have to donate. I consider myself fairly healthy and Toots is certainly thriving so I'm really not too concerned that we wouldnt' get through this next phase. I'm not sure how long it might take but keep your fingers crossed for us!!

Here's a little info about what the company does and such.

As a result of the ongoing donations from generous donors and supporters like you, International Breast Milk Project is able to continue providing breast milk to babies in Africa affected by HIV/AIDS. Through May 31, 2007, IBMP donors had generously given 55,000 ounces of breast milk for our cause! 100% of the breast milk donated through May 31, 2007 has been shipped to Africa. 5,000 ounces of the breast milk was shipped in May of 2007, while the remaining 50,000 ounces was shipped in October 2007. IBMP is grateful to Prolacta Bioscience for working with us from the very beginning to collect, process, and package all of this donated milk. Due to the program’s great success and growth, IBMP is able to continue its work under a business model that ensures sustainability for the organization, so that we may continue helping infants affected by HIV in Africa. At IBMP’s request, Prolacta will continue donating their services at no charge to IBMP. Under this agreement Prolacta will collect, process, and package 25% of all breast milk donated after June 1, 2007. This donated milk will be provided to babies affected by HIV, poverty, and disease in Africa. The milk that is shipped to Africa for infants affected by HIV/AIDS is donated and not sold to the babies or orphan clinics. The remaining 75% of donated milk will be processed by Prolacta to make pasteurized human milk and to create the only available human milk fortifier made from 100% human milk, H2MF, for premature and critically ill babies in neonatal intensive care units in the U.S. For every ounce that remains in the U.S., Prolacta will provide $1 to IBMP. International Breast Milk Project requested this balance of milk and financial support from Prolacta to maximize our potential to fund local healthcare initiatives in Africa, including local milk banking, while also providing immediate relief for infants suffering from malnutrition. This partnership of a non-profit with a for-profit organization provides a model that creates sustainability to provide for a critical need in Africa. IBMP is pleased that the new model is working well: Breast milk donations made after May 31, 2007 have resulted in another shipment to South Africa sent on May 20, 2008, consisting of over 43,000 ounces of milk! This is equivalent to over 10,000 infant feedings.
Prolacta’s human milk fortifier is the only fortifier made from 100% human breast milk, which is added to a mother's own milk, or to donor milk, providing a critically ill preemie with the nutrition necessary to support appropriate growth and development. The human milk fortifier is concentrated human milk that meets the nutritional needs of premature and critically ill infants, as prescribed by neonatologists. Premature infants miss out on significant in-utero growth because they are born too early, and human milk does not have enough calories and protein to sustain the growth rates required for these babies to catch up with their full term peers. Feeding these babies more volume does not work since their stomachs are too small. The solution to this problem is to concentrate their food. The current standard of care is fortification using bovine (cow) milk products. Prolacta Bioscience is offering an alternative by making a concentrated fortifier from 100% human milk, as opposed to cow milk. Prolacta is the first and only company to provide human milk fortifier from 100% human milk for critically ill babies in the NICU. International Breast Milk Project is a federally registered 501c(3) organization. We will publish our milk shipment reports and our yearly financial information at www.breastmilkproject.org. You will know that every drop of your milk is making a difference for infants in need.

Grandma Tells All