I don’t think I have had a decent night’s sleep in close to four years. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration but probably not. My girls are only two and half years apart. I had about six months in-between pregnancy/breastfeeding and getting pregnant again. We planned this so I knew it was happening but the funny thing about kids is that even when you plan you have no idea what you are getting yourself into!

Here is my current situation and I happily solicit any and all recommendations. The baby is still nursing throughout the night! Ok, before you judge, let me give you some background: My girls share a room and it is a lot easier to have one baby up in the middle of the night than two. So we have not tested the “cry it out” method as we did with my first daughter because of the baby possibly waking up the three year old. However, mama has just about reached her limit and if I don’t get some sleep I don’t know how I am going to continue to function. This is how a typical night goes….

Dinner/bath/bed – sounding pretty familiar I am sure.  My husband (when he is not traveling for work) usually takes the three year old for teeth/hair brushing, story and bed. Most nights she goes to sleep but sometimes I will have to lay down with her for “one minute” after I get the baby down. As my husband gets the three year old down, the baby and I lay on my bed and I nurse her to sleep. Wondering where the problem is? It starts anywhere from 11:30 pm to 2:30 am. The baby wakes up and starts crying. I drag myself down to their bedroom and retrieve her so she won’t wake her sister. I have tried to nurse her quickly and lay her back down but she always wakes up and starts crying as soon as I put her down. So now I just bring her back to bed with me…. Yes, I can hear the tongues clicking at this. I nurse her back to sleep in our bed and she falls asleep….For like, 15 minutes and then it starts again. And again. And again… This continues until the alarm goes off or our three year old comes in to wake us up.

Obviously, my quick fix solution isn’t working for anyone. I am not sleeping, the baby is not sleeping and my husband may be pretending to sleep but probably isn’t. How do I get this baby to sleep in her crib through the night?

Proof that she does sleep….

As I was making this salad, my sister who is a very health conscious told me that most salads are “ruined” by adding cheese, nuts and salad dressing….to which I turned around and gave her a big fat raspberry and gleefully added dressing (albeit light) to my delicious salad!

So, I guess that I have to give the disclaimer, if you want a “healthy salad” then find another recipe. If you however, want a salad that is SO delicious and not “that” bad for you…then dig in my pretties!

Side salad (feeds four or one or two…depends). All these ingredients came from Trader Joe’s but you can get anywhere.

Shopping List
Bag o Butter lettuce
Goat Cheese
Candied Pecans
Champagne Vinaigrette (TJ’s just started carrying this in the light option…see I am trying)

Mix Together

1. Dump lettuce into bowl
2. Add cheese (I used about ½ small tub)
3. Candied Pecans (my sister is right about the calories here…so use as much as you want)
4. Toss with dressing

We also tried this with adding skirt steak and that was delicious….you could add grilled chicken if you want to make it a meal too. The 3 year old said the salad was too spicy (the dressing is a little bit) but I set aside some lettuce, cheese and nuts and she had a faux salad.

Have any additions you would add?

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Years in business: 5 1/2

Contact Info: 469.232.9420 www.shopbabybliss.com

Hours: Monday thru Saturday: 10-6 & Sunday: 10-5

What Bebe au Lait products do you carry and why?
Nursing cover ups {because everyone should be covered!} and the Reversible Double Bibs {because they are so cute and functional}.

What are your customer’s favorite prints to purchase?
All of them! Because they are all adorable!

What is your favorite Bebe au Lait product?
Bebe au Lait & Hooter Hider nursing covers.

What is the best way you’ve found to display the Bebe au Lait line of products?
Within their respective categories, bibs with bibs, nursing covers with nursing and food essentials.

Before children it could be said that I rarely if ever went to the grocery store. And cooking a meal? Practically unheard of! Then marriage with a baby happened and I found myself reaching for the Betty Crocker cookbook my Grandmother had given me that was 50 years old and falling apart. I’ve made huge strides since, but every once in a while I am reminded of my humble beginnings, especially when we have dinners like we did the other night – harrumph!

I had a craving for chicken and mushrooms! We’d just recently purchased a cast iron pot and it is awesome for cooking any kind of meat and/or veggies in with a touch of olive oil. (As a side note, my husband and I have a running joke that the proper way to care for a cast iron pot includes no scrubbing or dish soap…. I just looked it up on Wikipedia; click here if you want to read more about it!) The plan was to brown three chicken breasts (both sides) on high heat and then bring it down and add the mushrooms. The problem was that the chicken breasts were too large… they browned but were going to take forever to cook! Finally, and this is my favorite part, I just started cutting at the chicken (yes, in the pan)… You should have seen the look on my husband’s face when he came into the kitchen to check on me. As I was sawing away at our dinner, I added the mushrooms and a bit more olive oil and figured I’d let the pan do its thing!

As you may have guessed, it didn’t turn out quite the way I was hoping. All the moisture was gone from the chicken. Fortunately, I’d also made a Trader Joe’s instant risotto so we had chicken and rice bowls for dinner. Actually, I added the chicken and mushrooms to a salad and the husband threw it all into a bowl and added some of the juice from the bottom of the pan. Bless his heart – he claimed that it was delicious. The three year old ate two bites of rice and claimed she was full. I actually did enjoy the chicken on my salad but anything is good with feta cheese and champagne dressing.

Sometimes, it is more about the journey then where you are going.

Have a better chicken and mushroom recipe? I would love to have it!

Bebe au Lait was recently featured on This Morning, a British morning show. The hosts and guests talk about our nursing covers, and our Sevilla print is shown. We’re about 2:30 in…Have a look!

In just 6 months, the Bebe au Lait Double Reversible Bib has become a highly praised Mommy Must-Have. Our bib has earned an iParenting Media Award for its innovative design, practicality, and chic prints.

We can tell you all about the unique 4-sided design, the easy and clean magnetic closure, and the one-of-a-kind prints. We can even talk all about how it’s machine washable and how it fits both babies and toddlers with ease.

Of course, we really want you to see what other people are saying about the bib…Have a look!

(Read More)

I recently attended a lovely baby shower in honor of my friend who is expecting her first baby (a little girl!) in early May. Old and new friends along with several generations of both the mom- and dad-to-be’s families (who flew in from out of state!) celebrated the occasion with some lively games, a champagne brunch and plenty of “ooohs!” and “awwws” as each gift was revealed.

I guess I’m getting to that age where I’m actually becoming quite a seasoned veteran attendee of baby showers. Though, for as many baby shower games for which I’ve participated, I’ve yet to win! I do have a few favorites, however, that I’d love to share along with a few new ones which I was introduced to last week. If I’ve missed any of your favorites, please feel free to comment with yours!

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It has been very busy over here at Bebe au Lait over the past few weeks…From getting all of our products certified as CPSIA compliant to launching our latest design pattern: Valencia, to our most exciting news of 2009: The launching of our hooded towels.

Let’s take a closer look at these gorgeous new towels! (Read More)

Instyle is a must-read. I especially like when they ask celebrities what they carry in their make-up bag. Online they have a slightly different version -’In Your Bag’: http://inyourbag.instyle.com/your_look_blog/celebrity_bags/index.html. I like to compare the contents of my Treesje bag with the likes of Ivanka Trump (she also carries around several lipglosses at once  - they’re easier to find if there are 5 of them).

Another area I am curious about is what people surround themselves with at work. I have to feel inspired by the items on my desk, I couldn’t imagine having a dull grey space.  There is always so much on my desk; fabric swatches to be approved, pantone books, magazine/newspaper articles that I need to find the time to read and the list goes on. Here is a shot of part of my desk. If I didn’t have to be away from my desk so much during the day i’d like to light some candles too. I always take a single flower from a bunch at home – one of my all-time favorites is the Safari Sunset shown here, I love that it changes color from one day to the next.

What’s on your desk? We’d love to see what you surround yourselves with!

A ray of sunshine in the middle of winter! Claire Ekelund and I have revised and revamped one of our favorite Bebe au Lait patterns to create a perfect complement to our products. Valencia uses a similar design to Sevilla, but has the sunshiney feeling of glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. In fact, the name Valencia is in honor of the beautiful city in Spain famous for its oranges. The pink and orange color palette is a perfect contrast to the blue hues of Sevilla, making a nice family of boy/girl products such as bibs and hooded towels. Olé!