Ooey Gooey Brownies

“What!?...Brownies don’t come from a box?” 
Until recently, I thought brownies were a boxed product, just like Hamburger Helper.  I make cakes, muffins, and most all baked goods from scratch, but I honestly had never thought of brownies from scratch – what a genius idea! 

So here is the wonderful recipe that I used to create homemade brownies.  This is really good the way it is, but it is also a good base recipe and leaves plenty of room for you to improvise (add mixings such as: chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, marshmallows, nuts, etc.).

Goodbye Duncan Hines & Betty Crocker brownies – Hello made from scratch chocolate deliciousness!

*PS* I made these again last night, but added marshmallows, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips and they are so stinking good! 

 Ingredients 

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Optional – any or all - chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, nuts, marshmallows

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.
2. In another bowl, combine oil, eggs, corn syrup and vanilla; add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
3. Fold in mixings if desired.
4. Spread in to a greased 9in X 13in baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 

Homemade Diaper Wipes

A while back I decided to make my own diaper wipes. I had found alot of DIY recipes and tried one that I liked the best. There are many recipes out there, but they are more or less all the same. After making these wipes for a while now I have modified the recipe to be less wet than the original recipe I tried. I love these wipes because they are strong and soft. They also cost less than most wipes, especially when you can find paper towels on sale. I also like that I know what the ingredients are and they have never caused Little Man to break out, while some store brands have.

Here's my recipe for diaper wipes:

1/2 a roll of Bounty Paper Towels
1 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Table spoons baby soap (I use Aveeno)
1/8 teaspoon vitamin E oil

Cut a roll of paper towels in half. Pull out the cardboard core. In a bowl mix all other ingredients. Put you paper towels in an air tight container. I just reuse a plastic wipes box. I have also found that a plastic coffee tub is the perfect size for a 1/2 roll of paper towels and this lets you pull the towels out from the center of the roll. Pour the mixed liquids over the paper towels. Shut the lid and shake to let all the liquid absorb.

Naomi

Shake, Twist, Turn, Salsa, Shuffle….Zumba!

Exercise has always been very important to me but especially now, as a new mom since it is a stress reliever and I can use as much of that as I can get these days! 

I am a runner. I love running but it is also my default cardio exercise because I lack in the coordination department.  I became an avid runner around the age of 13 when I began competing in races and have continued to do so up to the present, only now I run about 2 races a year (wish it were more).  

On the other hand, my younger sister was graced with rhythm, fluid movements, and flexibility and is absolutely amazing to watch dance and perform.  A while back, my oh-so talented sister began going to Zumba classes at a local gym here in town and had been going on and on about how fun it was and what a great workout she got from doing it. She asked me to go on several occasions and I just so happened to always have some other important task calling my name…twiddling my fingers, organizing my sock drawer…you know important stuff.  I honestly knew I wouldn’t be able to go and “shake it like my momma gave me” amongst strangers and especially next to my sister, a really great shaker of what her momma gave her (and yes, we have the same mother).

Her ongoing requests finally wore me down and when my best friend was in town the week after Christmas, the three of us went to a Zumba class.  Yes, it was intimidating, it was hard, and I made a complete fool out of myself, but boy was it FUN!  Once I got over thinking about what others might be thinking of me and my not-so hot dance skills, I loved it.  Honestly, what I think I liked best was that I felt like a backup dancer in a music video…and who hasn’t ever dreamed of being in a choreographed dance scene?

 (This class is a lot like the ones I have been taking)

Zumba.com describes Zumba as a “"fitness-party" that is downright addictive.” Zumba is all the rage right now, so if you find out about a class or someone has been nagging you to go along with them, I encourage you to give it a try and unleash your inner-back up dancer!

Kristen

Earth's Best Coupons

I love coupons, especially for products that I also well… love.  Here are several for Earth’s Best products (diapers, jar foods, cookies, formula, and baby cereal).  Happy Savings!

Earth's Best Coupons

Three in the Bed and the little one said… “butter sandwich”

In our household we have chosen to co sleep, meaning Little Man sleeps in bed with his daddy and I. This is a controversial sleeping arrangement and I know that many of you are tisk-tisking me as you read this.

I would like to say we chose to co sleep because of the positive long term effects on baby’s self esteem and feelings of safety, or because of the natural bonding it creates between parent and child. But the fact is in our house this did not come down to a researched decision on what was the best sleeping arrangement for babies. Co sleeping came about for us because Little Man was not a ‘good’ sleeper. He woke often demanding to eat. Though I had read that I should just ignore his cries (after about 4mo), I just couldn’t. I began to put him in bed with us out of convenience. This way when he woke I did not have to get out of bed and (after a little practice) I did not even have to sit up to nurse him. He still woke often, but both of us were able to have our sleep less disturbed.

I also found that once I went back to work, co sleeping let me make up for lost time cuddling my baby. Feeling him close to me also let me sleep better because it gaves me a sense of peace. I can see him, feel him, hear him and know that he is safe.

At this point Little Man no longer breastfeeds and usually sleeps through the night. (Except on the occasion he wakes demanding a ‘butter sandwich’ that’s peanut butter to you and me. Yes, this happens and no I do not get him a sandwich. I give him a passie, but that’s a whole other post.) But he still snuggles into bed with us. There are times when I think he may be ready to move to a toddler bed or wonder what we will do if we have another baby and Little Man’s still sleeping with us, but luckily we have a large king bed so there’s plenty of room. For now this arrangement works. One day he won’t be there snuggled between us and I’ll miss his little hand on my shoulder and his little fingers in my hair, and yes even his cries for butter sandwiches.
Naomi