recipe / simple wonton soup

since i had jay i am all about making the easiest dinners possible. trader joe's has been key in keeping things simple. i have come up with lots of delicious and easy recipes using their ingredients. last week i had a strange craving for wonton soup. after some pinterest searching, i found a few recipes and combined the things that i thought would be good. this dinner was super easy and took about 15 minutes (most of which was just cooking vegetables).

 

simple wonton soup:

-1 package trader joe's frozen chicken gyoza (or whichever gyoza or wontons you prefer).

-1 container of trader joe's celery, carrots and onions (it all comes pre-chopped especially for making soups!) (i think it's a cup of each if you're crazy and want to cut everything yourself)

-handful of sugar snap peas (i cut the ends off mine and cut them in half)

-8 cups chicken broth (trader joe's has little gooey packets of broth mix that you just add to water)

-3 tablespoons soy sauce

-2 teaspoons sesame oil (this stuff is expensive so if you don't already have it you might just want to skip it!)

-2 teaspoons minced/crushed garlic

-1 1/2 teaspoons sriracha

first: make the broth by combining the chicken broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and sriracha

second: once you have everything combined, add in the celery, onions and carrots. simmer until cooked- it took 10-15 minutes for mine. add in the sugar snap peas when the veggies are almost all the way cooked. i made the mistake of adding mine too early so they got mushy. i like them to keep their snap.

third: once everything else is done add the frozen gyoza and simmer for 2 more minutes. take the soup off heat.

fourth: devour.

photoshoot / little family of three

i did a mini-session with this cute little family during the extended family photos i took at balboa park over christmas break. their little boy was adorable- he has so much personality and was a blast to take pictures of. and seriously, a mini-curly-mohawk?? to die for.

baby / newborn essentials part 1

when i was pregnant i researched everything - what i needed to have, what a normal schedule for a newborn is, best ways to get your baby to sleep, what the latest and greatest gadgets are, etc. i bought stuff like crazy. i kept telling my mom and mother-in-law how unprepared i was because i didn't have the nursing pillow i wanted, or the video monitor i needed. they looked at me like i was crazy. i had already bought a ridiculous amount of stuff; way more than what i needed for the first month. i know i will use everything eventually, but these are the things that i am really using all the time right now. i'm thinking it might be helpful for anyone who wants to space out their purchases (because really, monitors can wait and breastfeeding pillows are not at all necessary).

sleeping:

1. nightgowns- these are the best for overnight changes- you don't want to have to fuss with snaps when you're half asleep!

2. swaddles- i have this thing against anything carter's baby brand - i generally think most of it is ugly and cheesy and (used to) refuse to even consider buying anything from them. but my mother-in-law gave me some gift certificates to kohl's so i picked the least offensive carter's things i could find. they happened to be baby blankets and i'm so glad i got them! i know aiden and anais is the common favorite for swaddle blankets. but if you're actually trying to tightly swaddle a newborn- the carters blankets are the best. they are just the right size- not too big to where you have a ton of extra fabric. and the fabric stretches so you can get it super tight. you can usually find a good deal on them and get 2 for $10-$15.

3. rockaroo- i'm not saying that i or doctor's recommend this - but jay has been sleeping in his rockaroo for about a month now. we have a cute cradle that both jarman and his dad slept in when they were newborns - but jay doesn't sleep as well on flat surfaces. he likes to be cozy and cuddly. we don't turn it on at night- we just put a soft blanket in it, then stick him in with his tight swaddle. he usually gives us a good 6 hour stretch this way so i am going to fight the flat-surface battle some other day!

4. white noise machine- you don't even know how obsessed jay is with white noise. it seriously chills him out when he is fussing and helps him sleep so much better. we have one that stays next to his bed, and then have this app on our phones that we use when we are out and about, or just anywhere else in the house. 

eating

1. burp cloths- do yourself a favor and go to target and buy two 10 packs of flat cloth diapers. i started out with one, but we go through them so quickly i'm so glad i bought another. we pretty much use these for everything- burp cloths, changing stations, toys, washcloths (when all our real washcloths are dirty). they are the best and we never worry about ruining them.

2. electric breast pump- most insurance providers cover pumps now. i didn't get mine till a month after jay was born and my life improved so much once i did. breastfeeding takes us a while - usually about an hour including a diaper change. at first, jay was eating 8 times a day. being able to pump and give him a bottle cuts that time so much and makes it so other people can help out. be sure to get a breast pump bra too.

3. bottles- we use tommy tippee. i read a lot of good reviews about them. we haven't tried any others but we like them so far!

4. formula- going into this i knew i didn't want to make myself have any serious opinions about breastfeeding because i know some people don't have the best experiences. i always said i planned to breastfeed as long as it works. so naturally i was open to supplementing with formula. the only reason we even tried it was because we somehow got similac samples in the mail and had some on hand. now we usually give 1-2 formula bottles a day. it just makes my life easier sometimes- especially when we are out.

travel-

1. wubbanub- if you plan to use a pacifier you have to get one of these. it helps the pacifier to stay in their mouth so much easier. 

2. carseat + stroller- jarman and i are obsessed with our stroller. it is not bulky. it attaches directly to the car seat. it's just pretty awesome all around.

3. diaper bag- pretty much everyone will tell you that petunia pickle bottom bags are awesome, and i would have to agree with everyone. i love my diaper bag. it has a pocket for everything. 

exploring san diego / cabrillo national monument

i can'y believe how many places there are in san diego that i have never even heard of! i lived only an hour away almost my whole life and am just now starting to explore. jarman kept talking about this old light house past point loma, and we finally made it out there after a long day of bad decisions. somehow we were driving around for like 3 hours trying to decide where to eat for lunch and we were all grumpy. but this place was the light(house) at the end of the tunnel! we made it just half an hour before it closed so we didn't have much time to explore, but we will definitely be back!!

shirt sunglasses lipstick baby blanket stroller