A few of my favorite things posts! Featuring Beth from Dot in the City!

Greetings Baxtron Life readers! I'm Beth and I blog at dot...in the city. I'm excited to join you all day, thanks to Courtney!

I usually share tutorials, projects, recipes and home renovation stories, so I thought I'd give you a glimpse by sharing my five favorite posts of 2011 (in no particular order):

(1) Trends on a Budget -ideas for how to keep up with some fashion trends by adding a few accessories to your wardrobe. I outlined my plan to "update" my wardrobe for $50 for fall/winter.

(2) Alternative break trip to Guatemala City and experience working with at-risk youth for a week last March.

(3) Sweet potato "pasta" + alfredo recipe made by my husband, it's one of my favorite recipes!

(4) How to make a cupcake wrapper name tag. These were a hit for a bridal shower and I decided to put together a tutorial. I had seen a photo on Pinterest.

(5) In December I shared our love story in a 5 part series, which was fun!

Thanks for letting me join you today, I hope you'll stop by and visit sometime!

I love all of these posts, Beth! Thank you so much for sharing them with us today.  :)  Your love story is an especially sweet read!  :)  One day, I'll have to share my own eHarmony experience.  Ha!

O.M.Y. {oh.my.yum} A little Sugar for your Sweeties ~ Featuring Lish from Imprintalish!

Hello Baxtron {Life} readers! My name is Lish and I blog over at Imprintalish.You'll find crafts, photography, tales of my two little men and a little bit of everything else in my corner of the web.  We love baking around here and this recipe that I am sharing with you is so easy to do with the little people in your life. A bit messy, but fun! It's also the perfect recipe for Valentine's Day. Heads up though, probably not so good for your waistline!! HAHA!

Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup of butter

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Assorted Food Coloring (makes roughly 5 dozen)

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar, until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Stir in flour, baking powder and salt until dough forms.

Separate dough into sections for each color you want to do. Add a couple drops of food coloring to each  section until you reach the desired intensity. Stir to blend color evenly.

Under the command of my 2.5 year old, we did pink, purple, blue and green. Cover and chill for at least an hour in fridge (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on a well floured surface, 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes.

Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Or a pizza tray in my case, LOL, while the other tray was in the oven! Bake 6-8 minutes. Cool completely. These also freeze well too, just do so before adding the icing.

Icing

1 cup icing sugar

2 tsp milk

2 tsp corn syrup

1/4 tsp vanilla/almond extract

Assorted food coloring & sprinkles for topping

(this is enough icing for a dozen cookies-if more is needed, I would recommend doing one batch of icing at a time)

 In a small bowl, stir together icing sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup. Divide into separate bowls, add food coloring to desired intensity.

Paint cookies with a brush or spatula. This icing is really forgiving to work with, the bumps and ridges just melt away into a smooth and glossy finish! Sprinkle with whatever pretty topping you have!

Well there you have it, the perfect little cookie to share with friends, teachers, family and of course to eat yourself!!!

Thanks so much for having me over to hang out Courtney! It was tons of fun and I hope to see some of you over at Imprintalish. I love meeting new people, so don't be shy-say hi!

Lish, what a fantastic Valentine's cookie recipe!  It looks super fun to make with the little ones as well…and currently Zion is on a big baking kick…what can I say, like mother, like daughter…so this is going to be put on our baking list pronto!

Lovely Sponsors {part 2} + Ad Space Giveaway!

I'd like to introduce you to a few more friends and sponsors for January! As I mentioned in my previous post, I asked these ladies a difficult question this month:

"If you could sit down for dinner with any three people {past, present or future?} who would you choose and why?" 

I asked this question because it is the most interesting question I have ever been asked on a job interview. When I asked why the interviewer had asked me it, he explained that you can learn a lot about a person's character, interests and heart by the answer to the question. I think you will find that reading their answers with this in mind will be very insightful!

Connect with Amanda here:

Blog ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~ Etsy

If I could have dinner with any three people, this is who I would choose:
1. My grandpa. My mom's dad specifically. He died when I was about 5. I know that he wasn't perfect, but I'm certain that we would have had a special bond if he had lived longer. I would have definitely been a grandpa's girl.

2. The band Lady Antebellum. They are one of my favorite bands to listen to. I've seen them in concert one time, and you can just tell how very talented they each are, and I would love to hear their stories (and music, duh).

3. This one I'm going to cheat a little and say I would love to have dinner with my husband!! It sounds silly, but he is in school full time and working full time. Some weeks I feel like we never see each other! We are in desperate need of a date night, and dinner would be a great place to start :)

Connect with Carly here:

Blog ~ Pinterest ~ Twitter ~ Instagram: carlyskinner

If I could sit down to a nice dinner with any three people, I would choose my three great grandmas that I had the privilege of knowing. I grew up with them as a part of my life and all three of them passed in the past 10 years or so. I have so many fond memories of them and I wish my husband was given the chance to know them like I did. Family is so important to the both of us and I know he would have absolutely loved them. I know they would be so proud of the woman I have become and I would love to sit down and tell them all about my life...my husband, my job, and my son who will be here SOON!

Connect with Kirby here:

Baby G Blog ~ Personal Blog ~ Parents for Occupy Wall St.

If I could have dinner with 3 people I would have it with 

1) My Great Great Grandmother. I've become infatuated with this woman as of lately. I've been doing a ton of family history research at the Brooklyn History Museum this year and it's been like I've re-connected with so many people (even if they are all not alive) particularly her. I bet she would have been a blast to hang out with, why wasn't I born a 100 years ago? 

2) My best friend Helen who passed away 5 years ago. I miss her and wish I could tell her about everything I've done in my life, she would be proud, she "is" proud I feel. 

3) F. Scott Fitzgerald. He's my man.

Connect with Nicole here:

Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest

(I didn't want to not include the lovely Nicole from Real Life Reality, but haven't received her answer just yet…so maybe you should go ask her on her blog??)  :)

I'm just loving the answers to these questions!

In conclusion, here is the answer to who I'd love to sit down for dinner with now:

"My daughter Zion at age 30…It would be amazing to see a glimpse of her future self and hopefully see that she turned out okay with me as a parent, lol.  I think I'd really like the chance to sit down with Jesus (and one day I will have that experience)…I don't think I would question him at all, I'd just want to be in his presence and enjoy his company…to know him more, to hear his laugh.  Lastly, I'd like to sit down with my mother around the time she became pregnant with her first child, so that I could encourage her and tell her how much her daughters will love her, and to never lose touch with them."

My answers are so different than when I had that interview! {P.S. I didn't get the job…it came down to me and one other person…and it was my DREAM job, or so I thought, at the time.}  :)

Hey guess what!? I added a few entry options to the giveaway!!!  Wouldn't you just love more chances to win that shiny 200x300 button featured on the top right corner of my blog?!  Well, here is your chance!!!  Good luck!


[You need to view this post on www.baxtronlife.com in order to enter the giveaway! Thanks!] a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Spotlight: Annie from Letters to Mo!

I am so happy to introduce you to a fantastic lady I've been getting to know over the last couple of months! Annie won my Extra Large Feature Ad Giveaway for January! :)

I'm Annie. I curse too much, I can throw down in the kitchen, and I love the Muppets more than any 32 year old woman should.

I write Letters to Mo, which is a modern day baby book for my 10 month old son, whose name is not actually Mo! I started my blog when I was pregnant as a way to document our lives together. Sort of love letters for him to read as he grows up. I blog about our adventures (big and small), living as an interracial family and typical mama stuff- though I draw the line at posting about poop!

This is Cash, aka Baby Mo, and yes, he really is the cutest baby in the universe.

One thing I don't blog about is parenting advice. So instead, I'll give the anti-parenting advice here.

Here is a list of things moms should never say to other moms.

1. My baby has never had formula. Not even one drop.
I'm a total breast-feeding advocate and breast-fed Cash until he was 8 months old. Even I know this is a stupid thing to say. By all means, have a love of breast-feeding, that's awesome. But don't imply that formula is just atrocious.

2. Giving birth is the most natural thing in the world.
Maybe. Maybe not. Confession time- I used to be an advocate of natural childbirth. Until I actually went into labor that is! After suffering a series of health complications my doctor and I chose to have Cash via a scheduled c-section at 37 weeks. Between the undiagnosed gestational diabetes, the preeclampsia, high blood pressure and a 10 pound 8 ounce baby being born 3 weeks early, there didn't seem to be much natural about my birth! Not everyone can (nor should) have an awesome natural birth, and there's nothing wrong with that.

3. I would never let someone else raise my kids.
My daycare provider no more raises Cash than your kid's second grade teacher raises him. Not everyone wants to stay home. Not everyone can stay home. Don't make them feel insecure or bad about that.


4. Why aren't you breastfeeding?
I've had strangers at Target ask me if I'm breast-feeding. It always throws me off, like, "why is this your business?". It just sets up women to have to defend their choice or makes them re-live all the struggles they had.


5. You know, you really shouldn't do _____.
A few days ago I posted a picture of my 10 month old son sleeping in his crib, with his head propped up by a pillow. A "friend" immediately messaged me warning me all about SIDS and letting me know how dangerous it was for him to be sleeping on a pillow. What she doesn't know? Cash has a lot of breathing problems and the doctor recommended he sleep elevated. You never know the full circumstance with someone's family. So stay out of it.

6. Did you use IVF?
A friend of mine from high school has twins. She is asked often if she conceived naturally or used fertility drugs. By strangers. By family members. In what world is this your business?

7. What do you do all day? (to a stay at home mom)
Every Saturday I have Cash all day while my husband works. During that time, I wrangle a 10 month old, fold laundry, cook, take care of pets, pay bills, have play-dates and in the middle of all that, try to remember to shower and eat. If someone asked me what I do all day while taking care of Cash I would want to punch them. Hard.

8. Formula is so much easier than breast-feeding.
Umm....duh. Breast-feeding is hard. I even had it really easy with no problems for either Cash or I, and guess what, it was still hard! Don't remind me of how difficult it is. I know that already.

9. You are spoiling him!
I've been told I'm spoiling Cash because of everything from breastfeeding him to not doing cry-it-out, to holding him "too much" to giving him a cookie. On what planet can you spoil a 10 month old?

and finally....

10. Is she adopted?
Yes, people really ask this. Cash is a beautiful mix of both his White mama and his Black daddy. But in our society, he is seen as Black. So when I'm out with him, people assume that I'm the nanny or that he is adopted. In the first month of Cash's life I was asked three times (by strangers) if he was adopted.With all my crazy post-birth hormones, I felt everything from rage to extreme sadness. I dyed my hair a dark brown so we would look more alike.

So there you have it, stuff you should never, ever, ever say to other mamas. Really it's all about supporting each other for our choices. We have it hard enough as mamas without tearing each other down.

Annie

Letters to Mo~ Facebook~ Twitter

Guest Feature: Kristina from City Corporate to Suburb Mama

It's an honor to be guest posting over here on Baxtron{Life}!

I thought I'd share 4 easy steps to be a healthier you this new year, while still saving money! Because let's be honest, it's that time of year again,. Time when we reflect and often when we all resolve to "lose those extra pounds" or be a better steward or "eat better" or __________ you fill in the blank.

As good as our intentions are, it's also very easy to lose motivation, forget the resolution or just fall back into those habits we want to break. I know I'm guilty!

But, I wanted to share with you a few things that you CAN do for you and your family without taking major steps and that will also probably save you some money or cost little to no money at all to implement.  

Here they are:

Make your own yogurt.  That might sound complicated, but as you can see here, where I shared how easy it is, you will find that it can be done! Not only is it so much better for you than store-bought yogurt that has so many additives and sweeteners, it's also so much cheaper! When you figure that organic yogurt on sale can range from 75-99 cents per cup, it's easy to have that add up! Especially if you have kids that like to snack on yogurt too! I dare you to try it!

Stop using your microwave.  This is something that started in our home with the ringing in of the new year. I've stopped using plastic in the microwave, since giving my challenge back in the fall, but I now know I need to give it up completely. It's so easy to pop things in the microwave, but I get excited thinking about how much healthier our food will be for us  without the use of the microwave! and this tip is completely free!

Make your own lip balm.  I've found that lip balm that is organic or "all natural" is rarely cheap! If you're lucky, you might find some on sale, but it's still too much for me to justify buying most of the time. Making your own lip balm is the easiest thing! and it's so much cheaper. All you need is some coconut oil and beeswax. Beeswax can be easily bought on amazon.com and Trader Joe's now sells organic coconut oil for less than $7! That's the  cheapest I've found and this will make you a TON of lip balm! When I make it, I usually use 1/2 cup of oil and 1/8 cup of grated beeswax. Melt together over low heat and then pour into the container of your choice. I have some old lip balm containers I just recycle for on the go and the rest I put in a small jar to just dip my finger in when I need it. Best of all, I can also use this for little Lucas' skin (our 10 month old who has bad eczema) to keep his skin moist. If you want, you can even add your favorite essential oil for a bit of a scent. I've added chamomile to mine and I just love it!

Make your own on-the-go snacks.  Especially because we're mostly grain/gluten free in our home now, having snacks for on-the-go can get super expensive, super fast! It's amazing the variety of gluten-free options there are out there, but they don't come without a hefty price! So, most of the time, I make all our snack foods. Most recently I made Larabars. If you've never had larabars, they are naturally gluten free and usually involve just a couple ingredients. Truly my kind of "make-it-yourself" recipe! on Thursday I made them for the first time and they were the easiest things! Here's a link to the simple instructions I followed: make your own larabars.

These are just 4 of many baby steps you can take to be healthier, while still saving money this new year! I always find that if things are easy enough, I'm much more willing to do them again and again! I dare you to try even just one of these. Then, please stop by my blog and tell me how it went! 

Happy New Year!

Thanks Kristina for this awesome post on starting the New Year right in simple but highly beneficial ways!!  You are by far the most dedicated person I know in adapting a simple and natural lifestyle with ease and finesse!  I can't wait to see what new things you do this year!




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Guest Feature: Carly from TexasLoveBirds!

Hello Life with the Baxtrons readers! I'm so glad to be back here, posting on Courtney's blog (click here to read my previous post). Courtney's in-laws are currently in town enjoying the celebration of the New Year (celebrating in NYC...I'm jealous), so I'm glad to be here helping take care of the blog while she enjoys family time.

As today is New Year's Eve, and the end of 2011, I'm excited to share the top three things that I'm most looking forward to in the year 2012:

#1 Gunner Moments
There is definitely no question that I'm most looking forward to moments with my son. If you aren't a reader of my blog you might not know that I am 32 (almost 33) weeks pregnant. Gunner is our first child, so in just a matter of weeks we'll be learning about and embracing those newborn moments for the first time. We cannot wait to see his face, hear his cries, hear his laugh, and learn all about him.




#2 Seeing My Husband Become A Daddy
Cody is an amazing husband, I think he's the best, but I cannot wait to see him as a Dad. I think it will be amazing to see him grow and change, and I cannot wait to share and love our son together.

#3 Completing My 24x24
My birthday is January 2nd and this year I will be turning 23. I've just recently compiled a 24x24 list..a list of 24 things I'd like to do before my next birthday when I turn 24. This is my first year to compile a list like this and I'm really excited about it. I've never been big on New Year's resolutions but I guess this list is pretty close; except, the goals are more specific and not super broad.

If you've never stopped by my blog, I hope you do for the new year. I would love for you to join in and read about our adventures as new parents and to check in on my progress of my 24x24 list. I'd absolutely love to hear from you and have you stop by.

Happy New Year, y'all! x

Carly, thanks so much for sharing your top 3 for 2012. I know that I personally am looking forward to your journey into motherhood…and can't wait for you to meet your little boy. I love your 24x24 idea as well. I will definitely be following that. Thanks again for this post!



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Guest Feature: Melissa from My Soul is the Sky!

Hey! I'm Melissa from My Soul is the Sky and if you haven't seen my blog yet come check it out.

  I've got an assortment of hairstyle tutorials you should come see!

The Double Braid inspired by Rachel McAdams is one of my favorites!

 

I've got a few other tutorials that you can find over on my blog so you should come check those out too!

Be sure and let me know you stopped by!

Thanks Courtney! for having me guest post on your lovely blog!

Melissa's blog is one of my favorite reads.  I am a huge fan of her "Copycat" series, and as you can tell, this lady knows how to braid!!!  Thank you so much, Melissa, for blessing my enthusiasts with this post!!!




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Zion's Triumphant Entry

Hey Friends!  Zion's birth story is featured over at SpearmintBaby today!  If you haven't read it yet, stop over there and discover whether or not I still want 7 kids!