I’ve been doing the “don’t offer, don’t refuse” thing for a while and it hasn’t really changed her nursing habits, so one of my New Year’s goals is weaning. I’m a little sad about it, but I’m ready to be done. The Husband and I celebrate our 5th anniversary in a few months and I’d like for us to be able to take a trip alone. It will also be nice to wear normal bras again!

• A few tricks I’ve learned over the last week:
• Never sit down. A nursing child knows that’s the prime opportunity and will pounce!
• Wear clothes that are annoying for nursing; that way she can’t access it and I will be less likely to give in to the convenience.
• Offer snacks constantly. She’s less likely to want milk when she can run around with a handful of grapes or her new favorite, Lara bars.
• Have Daddy take over for bedtime. And busy yourself on the opposite end of the house doing something loud.
• Sing a special song at sleeping times.
• Plan play dates to end at naptime so the car ride home will lull her to sleep.
• Have easy breakfast items ready and go straight to the highchair after waking up.
• Don’t sit down when comforting in the middle of the night. I’ve found if I stay standing and sing/sway, she no longer expects anything else.

So far, it’s been pretty good. I’m not trying to stop cold turkey, just throwing off the routine enough so that maybe she’ll forget that was part of the routine. I’ll still nurse if she asks 3 times in a 10 minute period or when something like falling and slightly busting her bottom lip happens and I know the comfort benefit outweighs the refusal. Those things I’ll cut back on once we’re closer to actually being done. For now, we’re down to just naptime if we’re home and bedtime if The Husband can’t take over, which is usually several nights a week due to his work schedule. We’ve gone one 24 hour period with no nursing, but not actually a full day yet. I don’t think it will be too long though!

Did you quit nursing cold turkey or gradually stop? Any helpful weaning tricks?

That is how I feel. Not quite empty, just not festive and shiny with a tree and stockings; back to boring and normal life after the excitement and rush of the holidays. Although after 7 family events and 4 church/friend parties, I did welcome a break with open arms! I just haven’t been able to bounce back quite yet. We took down the tree today, which always saddens my Christmas-loving heart.

The weather here probably hasn’t been helping either with drizzly cloudy days for the last week. I’m hoping to snap out of it soon and get on some of my organizing goals for the New Year!

The Tiny Toddler takes after her daddy in not really caring for the snow, but she was a trooper for a few pictures.

She did enjoy getting all the winter gear on, while screaming “owwwside!” and clapping.

She really enjoyed looking at the snow, and was pretty upset the next afternoon when it melted, but what a great Christmas memory!

Some are slightly creepy.

While others are just classic Christmas.

Hope yours was as merry as ours!

We made gingerbread men, sugar cookies, mint chocolate cookies, no-bake oatmeal energy bites, rice krispies, and dipped pretzels over the course of about a week. I also took a veggie tree to a party, which turned out pretty cute.  

She was actually more interested than I had expected and cried when I made her get down! I guess she’ll be helping me more often, but maybe from the safety of her highchair next to me.

She was really proud of her work, and I’m so excited to have this tradition with her!

I love this gift for many reasons; it’s really personal and can be easily customized, it’s relatively easy, and (my favorite) it’s not expensive! I bought stacks of tiles at Home Depot, hot glued leftover felt from the tree I made on the backs, Mod Podged on photos of the Tiny Toddler, and sealed with polyurethane to make them waterproof.

I tried to choose a variety of pictures so they weren’t too Christmas-y and the grandparents can have them out year round.

This project only cost about $9 since I had most supplies from other projects, and it took about 3 hours total with all the cutting, gluing, brushing, and drying. The Husband said I have to make us some now because they turned out so good!

• Here’s what I used:
• Scrap wood; I used a 26 inch piece of a 1×6, but any size will work
• Hole punch
• Jump rings
• Double pronged staples
• Scrapbook paper; at least 12 different colors
• Labels
• Mod Podge
• Paint
• Foam Brush
• Brackets for hanging

First, I made a list of all the birthdays for that side of the family, and printed them on individual labels. I used a 2in circle punch and put one name on each; with a different color to represent each month of the year. I used jump rings to connect the circles to one another.

I painted the 1×6 (that I found in the scrap wood section at Home Depot for $.51!), and once it was dry, arranged pieces of scrapbook paper to cover the front, then Mod Podged it on. The Husband attached the brackets on the back and hammered in the staples for me, using one of the circles to measure the spacing along the bottom edge.  Then, we were done!

It did take a bit of time to finish, probably 3.5 hours total, but I only spent about $10 for everything I needed. But I had some supplies from other projects, and got that really great deal on the wood. If you don’t have any materials, you should probably budget about $30, which is still great for such a custom gift!

• For two pizzas, you’ll need:
• 2 cups warm water
• 2 tbsp yeast
• 2ish cups of white flour
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups garbonzo bean flour
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 cup cooked cauliflower, chopped
• 1 cup spinach, chopped
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• Garlic salt for seasoning
• Tomato or alfredo sauce
• Toppings of your choice

Mix together warm water and yeast and let sit until creamy, or until you don’t want to wait anymore. I use that time to get the rest of the ingredients out. Add in oil, then all the dry ingredients, and mix. Put in half of the flours, 1 cup at a time, followed by the chopped veggies. Then add in the rest of the flour. I did the white last because I was trying to use as little of it as possible, while still getting the dough to the right consistency.

Once the dough is not too sticky, cover it and let it set in a warm place for about 15 min. While it’s rising, you can preheat the oven to 350 and prepare your toppings; I grated cheese, chopped more spinach, and diced chicken for mine.

Once it’s risen, separate the dough into halves and roll it out into circles. Place on a greased pizza pan or cookie sheet and put in the oven for 7-10 min. Brush with melted butter and garlic salt, then top with your choice of sauce, cheese and toppings. (I hid more chopped spinach between the layer of sauce and cheese to be super stealthy-healthy.)

I always work with one at a time, so while I’m rolling the second one, the first is already in the oven. Then while the second one starts baking, I take out the first and decorate it, then switch them. They usually get done aroundthe same time, but I’m not wasting any baking time, and neither ever gets cold. Depending on the thickness of crust, it will need to bake for an additional 12-15 minutes. Check the bottom of the crust for doneness, and you can always put it back in if it’s not ready.

I made one chicken alfredo and one pepperoni pizza, and it was enough for 2 meals for the 3 of us. I’m so excited to have a healthy pizza crust recipe!