Top 10 most useless baby items

When I was pregnant with my first born, Xavier, like most soon to be moms I put everything I could ever think of on my registry hoping to get it. If I didn't get it as a gift, I marched over to Babies R Us and bought it myself. There was no talking me out of it. I mean come on, there was no way my baby could live without these items.

Ok, lets get real. Let me be the one to talk you out of those LUDICROUS purchases.

Top 10 most useless baby products

1) Wipes warmer- this only dries the wipes out. Your baby will get use to a cold wipe on its bum in about 1 day.

2)Bottle warmer- I spent more time trying to figure this thing out while not melting my bottles. Do it the old fashion way, a lil hot water in a big cup and put your cold bottle in it. There you go. Done and done.

3)10,000 different lotions/shampoos. I still had the same lotions I used with Xavier that I now use on my daughter Charlotte. I thought I needed every scent. Take it from me, You don't.

4) The behind the seat mirror for your vehicle. These never stay on, and you have to squint like mama June's bingo face to see your baby since the mirror is so small. Your baby is going to be just fine in the back seat. Don't worry!

5)Infant shoes- Your baby is not going to want to wear shoes, it will rip them off, and half the time they don't fit due to their big chunky sausage feet. I still have infant shoes in the box never worn- who wants them? (You're suppose to say "not me!")

6)Diaper genie- I will admit, I did use this for a small amount of time. However, the refill bags are ridiculously priced and if the diapers are "bad" enough you will still smell them. Also, when the diaper genie gets full I forget about it and leave it sitting there full of nasty grams for weeks. Javy LOVES when I do this :-) I got this brilliant idea with Charlotte: throw the diapers in the trash and take out the trash if it starts to smell.Saves me a bunch of cash!

7) Shopping cart cover- I never had one with Xavier and he lived just fine. I got one with Charlotte because I thought it was the cool thing to do. I have used it once and I hate it. It is big and messy, and took me about 30 minutes to figure out how to put it on the cart ( I still put it on wrong). I was so worried about germs, I then realized that every store now has those sanitizing wipes. Use those- it's much easier!!

8) Pee-pee teepee- Really? Really? I got some of these as a baby shower gift, I thought it was so cool! There was actually a way to prevent my son from peeing in my face? Ummm yeah, not so much. Did I really think a little baby boy would not pee on me and this thing would stay on his wiggly butt? Don't get it. Enough said.

9) Dozens of receiving blankets- I have drawers full of drawers of cute receiving blankets. You fill find that your baby will only like 1 kind of blanket, the rest will just sit there and collect dust. The small blankets are good for maybe 3 uses until your baby gets too chunky for it. I recommend buying 3-5 receiving blankets and leaving the rest alone. Your baby will do just fine without 33 owl/flowers/polka dot blankets

10) Scratch mittens- I had all sorts of cute scratch mittens that I placed on both of my kids- ONE time. I only did it one time because they fall off or getting ripped off by your baby. I then got another brilliant idea on how to get my babies to stop scratching their face- clip their finger nails on a regular basis!! WOW, who would have thought?

Here are a few honorable mentions:

Don't buy diapers in advance when your pregnant. Your baby will go through diapers so quick, your not going to want to buy too much of 1 size. Take it from me, I still have size 2 and size 1 diapers in my closet.

You really don't need 10 bottles in 5 different sizes. You really only need 3-5 bottles- your baby will let you know which one he/she likes- buy a few of those. Once again, take it from me. My cabinets are filled with bottles that i thought were cool, or thought my kids would like. Ummmm no. Every single bottle except for 2 of them have been used once.

The baby bullet- Trust me, a regular food processor is MUCH better because you can make much more baby food in it.

Newborn clothes- Your baby will outgrow these in 1-2 weeks. I would buy 2 pairs of jammies and a few onesies, the rest is a waste.

What are items that you found just as useless as these?

Making your house a home

I am a big fan of having a cozy, warm home. I don't just want a house. I want a place that my kids love coming home to, a place I look forward to coming to after a hard day at work. A place my family can call home. My last house was not a home. It was filled with random objects with no meaning. Our new home is different. Below is what sets my home apart from a house.

-Fill your home with pictures. On that note, take lots of pictures. You are going to want to remember these moments some day, have the pictures to look back on. I love framing pictures and reminiscing on our memories. See below, have you ever seen so many pics in one room? I'm obsessed.

- Have a table to eat dinner at each night. I will preach it again, having a dinner table that is not full of bills, and junk is great. Plain ole' great. I love eating together as a family.

-Decorate and fill your space! Fill your walls and corners of your home with art you love, pictures you want to remember, decorations that mean something to you! Make your home a family museum. Display souvenirs from places you have been, to hobbies you enjoy. Have fun decorating your home and making it "you". I actually want a new home with more wall space because I have filled up all of our current wall space.  PS. My husband decorated my entire house. He's a gem. A real keeper.

 - Decorate your kids room with pictures of family, artwork they have created and items they may be excited about. Make your kids room a fun place to go, not the dread "GO TO YOUR ROOM!" place. When Xavier draws something new we put it up on his wall, this gives him such a sense of pride! Xavier loves super heroes . .why not go all out and give him a room he loves playing in? He gets to be surrounded by super heroes!

- Spend time in your home. Make it your retreat. Love coming home. Cook in your kitchen, have family dinners and eat in your dining room, watch movies in you living room, sit and talk in your sitting room, let your kids play in their rooms. 

-Let your home be a place of gather. Spend time with your loved ones and friends in your home. Have fun when people come over  and stop apologizing for the "mess".

Forget the expensive furniture, the fancy chandelier, the top of the line appliances. Have fun making your house a home with the simple things in life. A little goes a long way in a house.

What are some of your ideas that made your house a home?                       

Top items in a mom's oversized bag

Are you like me? Do you have a abnormally large purse that you "need for all your important things"? I took the time to empty my purse that I literally throw everything into. Here is what I discovered . . .

 Where do I even start? I must admit, I'm embarrassed. I have no organizational in my purse. When my phone rings I literally reach my hand in my purse and hope after feeling around for a few seconds I will eventually find it. If I miss your call, it's 99% of the time because I can't find my phone in my purse. I apologize now.

• acid reflux medicine. I pop one of these suckers in on a few occasion. 1. Every few hours when I'm pregnant 2. When I eat chilli 3. When I drink wine. You wanna mess with me? Take my acid reflux medicine. It's on. 
•  A nail file. I tend to break my nails every darn day. I file my nails like its going out of business. I want to get the shape just perfect. However, I file so much that  I screw up my nail shape and have to grow them bad out only to file the crap outta them again. 
• One Black leather glove. Stop thinking I was somehow involved in the OJ Simpson trial. I didn't do it. I just have one leather glove. The other is in my diaper bag. Why? No idea. This will NOT come in handy during the cold Denver winter.
•  A Netflix movie. My husband and I watch a Netflix movie and he puts it on the counter for me to remember to mail out. It takes me about 5 days to remember to remove it from the counter. I then place it in my purse where it waits another 5-10 days before making it to the mailbox. Fail.
• A whole bunch of toothpaste. I have no clue why I have this much toothpaste in my purse. I never have used it. Maybe someday I will need it? Probably not, but it sure is handy eh?
• A spongebob toy. MOM's out there, you never know when you need a random toy to keep a baby entertained right? Bob here does the trick. I keep him right by my side at all times. He comes out during melt downs at Target when I try to take both kids shopping with me so I can catch a sale. 

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•  Bills. I place a whole lot of bills in my purse so I remember to pay them. This technique is clearly not working . . look at them all! I also don't have online billing for hardly anything. I like to hold my monthly bills in my own hands. However, I get the bill, throw it in my purse and go online to see how much I owe. What is wrong with me?
• A set of keys that I have no idea what they are for. I honestly have no clue what door these may open. Why do I have them you ask? I also don't know the answer to this questions. Random? Yes.
• I always have a watch with me. If you know me, this is no surprise. I love watches.
•  I ask for a hair tie about 20 times per day. Oh look. There is one in my purse. Sweet!
•  My mini wallet. I lied on my license, so what? Judge me now. I was pregnant in this pic and said I was 110 lbs. Yeah right, who was I kidding? I also said I was 5'2. I am actually 5'2 and a 1/4. 

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• Chapstick. I got this bad boy for my birthday from Sephora. I love it. Living in Denver my lips are always chapped. I can't control it 97% of the time, but I do try. This stuff works.

This blog has inspired me to clean out my current purse and beg Javy for a newer, and bigger purse to hold my items that don't fit in this one.

What's in your purse? Do you have bad purse habits like me? Do you have a way that you organize your purse? Help me!!

Taco Dorados

One of my husband's favorite childhood meals in called Taco dorados. For all you english speaking folk out there, this means fried tacos.  Now, lets not get it twisted, I am no mexican cook. I don't cook great authentic mexican food, after all I am just a simple girl from Maine. However, I cook a MEAN taco dorados. Follow this recipe and you too shall pass as an authentic mexican woman for a slight second of your life.

PS. Don't judge this until you try it. The ingredients all seem a bit strange for a taco. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Ingredients:
5 potatoes
2 medium sized red onion
10 limes
1 T crushed red pepper
1 t salt
2 cooked chicken breast (shredded)
1/2 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
20 corn tortillas (about)
2 cups vegetable oil
Siracha sauce (to liking)


For the marinated onions to top tacos
Slice both red onions as thin as you can get them. Place onions in bowl or large ziplock bag. Squeeze each lime onto onions until onions are swimming in lime juice. Add salt and crushed peppers. Let mixture marinate in refrigerator all dat long or about 8 hours until they become soft.

Tacos
Preheat oven to lowest oven temp (mine is 170) Cut potatoes into fourths and boil until soft. Once soft, mash up with milk. Once fully mashed, add in shredded chicken and mix well.

Heat oil in large skillet. Once hot, add corn tortilla and immediately fill with chicken mixture topped in 1 T cheese per taco.  Fold over each taco.

Let taco fry in oil for about 2-3 mins per side or until golden brown. Flip for another 2-3 min on other side. Once each side is golden brown, place taco on baking sheet in pre heated oven to keep warm.

(Please note: in the below picture I am in full work uniform, as I never seem to change out of it until bed time- and I am holding my hair up with a chip bag clamp. Judge me later please)

Repeat until all mixture is used. Now it's time to get serious. To serve taco: top with marinated onion mixture and Siracha sauce to your liking.

Enjoy this Velazquez family favorite recipe! Do you feel Mexican yet? I know always feel a little mexican when I make it.

What's your favorite childhood recipe? I LOVE getting new recipes!

How to make your house appear clutter free

There is a few things I HATE in this life. I don't use the word hate often, but with these cases I do.

1. When I run out of shampoo and forget to restock and I realize it when I am already in the shower
2. Tripe
3. Clutter
4. Sunglasses at night

Lets take a moment to chat about clutter. I hate it, I despise it, but somehow every house seems to have some of it. When you have a family, way too many toys, and bills for that fact, clutter is inevitable. No matter what, things just seem to pile up don't they? You clear the counter where everyone seems to put their crap and BADABING BADABOOM, more crap is back. Below is what I do to contain the clutter the best I can:

• Make woven baskets your friends. You can place baskets in an area where no storage exist and there you have it, instant storage! The cheapest baskets I have found are at TJ Maxx. I use baskets to hide the following: misc electrical cords that i have no idea what they belong to, books, games, movies, toys and more toys. Baskets just look classier than other storage options. 

• Put all of your bills in one place. This way you know where they are at all times when you decide to go pay em all. This eliminates bills piled on your kitchen table, on your counter, in your room, on your bathroom sink etc. etc. The only downside to this is that your bills will stare at you in the face. I hate when bills stare at me in the face, I get all uncomfortable and feel the need to pay them pronto.  See pic below. I have all my bills in one cute little . .you guessed it, woven basket. I also put all the junk here that I don't know where else to put it. You will see a dog brush, head lamp, KFC coupon, and nail file all in one handy spot. 

• Have a coat/hat rack. I really dislike the look of coats/sweaters stacked high on the backs of chairs or on the part of the couch that no one sits on. I also hate finding hats stacked all over my house. Javy has a hat on the bathroom sink right now. I am seeing how long it takes him to put it where it really belongs. It's been awhile, I don't think he gets my point. I like them all to be in one place. This makes a house look SO much more neat!!!

• Put shoes where they belong. Have a designated spot for shoes. Don't leave your shoes piled in your entry way, this just looks messy. No one needs to see your dirty smelly shoes anyway right? You will not believe how pleasant your entryway will look with NO shoes in the way! PS. Trust me I tried to use a woven basket as my shoe bin. This was not a success. The shoes ended up breaking right through it.

• Have a designated key spot. This is one tip that I do not practice what i preach. I ask my husband where my keys are at least 3 times per week. He never does know where they are but I always feel the need to ask him. 9 out of 10 times they are lost in my diaper bag/purse. However, It's a great idea to have a designated spot for keys. A counter looks like it has so much more clutter when there are keys lying around. Please disregard Venom and Spiderman hanging from my key rack. Welcome to the home of a 4 year old.

• Organize your bathroom drawers. Come on, we all know that when you go to someones house you look in their bathroom drawers/cabinets and see what kind of good stuff they have . .right? Please tell me it's not just me who does that. I'm not the only creeper right? Right?! I use plastic dollar store bins and of course woven baskets to organize mine. This way no one can snoop through my drawers and say to themselves "OMG Tracy's house is neat but her drawers are a hot mess" PS. don't judge me by the massive amounts of toothpaste I have. Don't ask. I don't have an answer.

• Make your kids put away toys when they are done using them. Have a toy box big enough to store all of their toys. If you don't, it's probably time to get rid of some. Have a spot for every toy. No one wants to be tripping over Thomas the train or My little Pony right?

• Just throw things away! If you don't need it, or if you haven't used it in at least 30 days, get rid of it. You will forget you threw it away in about 30 seconds.  I am the opposite of a hoarder. I LOVE throwing things away. This also gives me an excuse to buy something new. Ohhh bummer, my oven mitt got spaghetti sauce on it? Darn, I guess it's time to go to Homegoods and find a new one. 

These are just a few of my clutter free tips. Do you have any that work for you? What are they, I'd love to hear! Do they involve woven baskets?  . . . .Yeeaahhh I thought so!!

Nutella cookies

Javy came home from hunting 1 day early.While both kids were napping Javy asked me to help him unpack the cooler. He put the cooler in the middle of the kitchen so it would annoy me and I would unpack quickly instead of letting everything rot in the garage. (I did that last time)

Now look at this picture of the inside of the cooler. What do you notice first? Was it the Nutella? Yeah me too. I was instantly like a dog who saw a squirrel. I was completely distracted by a container of Nutella. I had to eat it. First I made a Nutella sandwich, then I decided to make cookies.

For these cookies you will need:

• 1 cup Nutella
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg

Can this be any easier? Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix together all ingredients

Once mixed roll dough into 1 inch round balls and place on greased cookie sheet

Flatten balls using the bottom of a glass into the cookie sheet

Place these bad boys in your pre heated oven for 6-8 minutes (I did 8 minutes). Let cool. 

Now it's time to enjoy this easy, tasty treat!