Where Have I Gone?

I haven't posted in a while - having a one year old, working full time and everything else in life is catching up to me this month! More to come next month, I've just been busy!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summers!!!

PlusPeace

Peek-A-Boo, I see you (while driving)

So I thought about doing this for a while and didn’t actually get to making it yet but I have everything I need and it’s pretty easy! Ever wonder what your baby is doing in his rear-faing seat when you’re on the road? Buying mirrors for the headrest is around $25-30 – CRAZY! I got all the stuff to make mine for $6.00. Here’s what you’ll need.

-Mirror – doesn’t have to be great, a desktop or bureau top makeup mirror will work. Make sure it is smaller than the headrest in your car. I got mine at a Salvation Army for $1 – try similar places or yard sale. (After all it is yard sale season!)
-2 ft of elastic band – anything cheap will do. I got 2ft for $3 at Michaels.
-Needle and Thread – I’m sure you or someone you know has some lying around
-1 old t-shirt, blanket or sweatshirt – stay away from jersey or super stretchy fabric.
-Super Glue – got some at the dollar for…$1.
-Scissors.
-Two ½ inch(ish) buttons.

How-To:

-Trace the mirror onto the fabric (t-shirt)
-Cut diagonal slits on the corners of your outline (cut on the INSIDE of the outline not the outside “/ \”)
-Cut out 2 inches around the mirror outline – so you have a 2 inch border around the mirror.
-Cut your elastic in half so you have two strips that are 1ft long.
-Sew 1 button to the end of each strip.
-Cut small ¼ inch holes 2 inches apart (about 5) on the other end of the strips.
-Lay the strips on top of the fabric cut out so they are at least 4 inches from the outside edge of the sides and sew down the middle (by hand or machine)
-Cover the back of the mirror in super glue and set inside your outline.
-Stretch the slit corners around the corners of the mirror.
-When it is dry, bring to the car and place the mirror onto the front of the headrest where baby sits. Stretch the straps until tight and button closed in the back. To tilt the mirror so it shows little baby’s face in the rear-view mirror, roll up some of the remaining fabric and stuff between the top of the head rest and the mirror. Make sure it is tight under the elastic and will not come out.

Now go for a drive – I am at work and can’t add pictures but I have illustrations coming later tonight =]

Love,
PlusPeace

Great Uses for Old Things

So now that our babies have grown out of just about EVERYTHING – here are a few suggestions on what to do.

-Donating – always a great option. Either to a friend, Goodwill or Salvation Army (just remember carseats should not be donated)
-Bathtub – I used Bears old little baby bathtub as a play tub on the deck. I filled it up with the hose and float some duckies and ships in it and it was a blast. They also usually have that nice little drain plug on the bottom for an easy empty.
-Car Seats/Strollers – car seats should not be donated but Babies R Us and a few other baby places let you trade in your old seat for 25% off a new one.
-Clothes – If you’re a quilter or a crafter making blankets and toys out of your babies old clothes can be a great keepsake.
-Everything – why not clean out the whole house while you’re in the cleanup phase? Host a yard sale! If you don’t have enough stuff put together a neighborhood yard sale and combine junk! Use a different color sticker for each person’s stuff so you can split up the money easily.
-Small Toys – I think I saw this in a Martha Stewart magazine, take a picture of your kid and their favorite toy at that age and get some of those picture boxes (2.5 inches deep should work ok) put your lo’s picture in the back and a toy or toy artistically placed in the box, if you make one each year you’ll have a neat collection on your wall of your child growing up. What’s nice about this is it’s not just a picture it’s a little memory in there too – and great to show to future girlfriends/boyfriends hehe J

Anybody have any more ideas?

Love,
PlusPeace

Yay - Hose!

We all love the hot weather - well I do! In Maine we don't get much of it so I suck it all up when I can. Here are some fun outdoor activities!

Sprinkler! This will bring hours of fun for a 1 year old - get one of those little turtle shaped ones and stick your baby in a swim diaper - and LOTS of sunscreen - and play in the cool water.

We got a little blow up pool for the deck ($10) and a tub full of ducks ($12) and that brings hours of fun too. Heck you can even sit in there too! Grab some funnels and extra Tupperware and play, play, play!

The Park! We have a park here in town and they have a little play area with fountains - it was nice to see all the other kids in the park too. Careful of the pushy kids though.

While your at the park bring the kiddo to the park! The swings are fun and you can both go on the slide - yay.

That's all I have at the moment. I have more recipes coming soon just need to find more than 6 minutes to type =]

Love,

PlusPeace

recipe Day #3 - OOps

So I totally slacked this week with the daily recipes – Bear is teething and we both fell asleep at 8:30pm last night! Yikes! I got nothing done…Today I have a recipe for black bean baby burrito and some serving size suggestions from babycenter.com (I refer to this website often for questions like this)

What/how much to serve your baby:

· Whole milk

· Other dairy (soft pasteurized cheese, full-fat yogurt and cottage cheese)

· Same food as family, mashed or chopped into bite-size pieces

· Iron-fortified cereals (rice, barley, wheat, oats, mixed cereals)

· Other grains (whole wheat bread, pasta, rice)

· New fruits: melon, papaya, apricot, grapefruit (citrus is now okay)

· New vegetables: broccoli and cauliflower "trees"

· Protein (eggs; cut-up or ground meat, poultry, boneless fish; tofu; beans; thinly spread smooth peanut butter)

· Citrus and non-citrus juice

· Honey is now okay

How much per day

· 2 to 3 servings dairy (1 serving = 1 cup milk, ½ to 1 oz. cheese, 1/3 to ½ cup yogurt or cottage cheese)

· 4 to 6 servings cereals and other grains (1 serving = ¼ to 1/3 cup cereal, ¼ cup pasta or rice, ¼ to ½ slice bread or bagel)

· ¼ to ½ cup fruit

· ¼ to ½ cup vegetables

· 2 servings protein (1 serving = 2 tablespoons ground or two 1-inch cubes meat, poultry, or fish; 1 egg; ¼ cup tofu or cooked beans; 1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter)

· 3 to 4 oz. juice

Burrito! – this makes enough for two adult burritos too

1 Green Pepper – chopped up really small
1 Seasoning assortment – I cant remember the brand but they have them in the seasoning aisle (maybe mccormick?) and it’s a cardboard pieces with 6 plastic ‘bubbles’ with premeasured spices – get the Mexican one.
½ Sweet Onion – chopped up small
1 can of black beans – drained, low sodium
1 bag of Uncle Bens whole grain rice (I like the 90 second rice)
1 bag of whole wheat tortillas
1 Avocado
½ cup shredded Yellow Cheddar
Greek Yogurt (side)
Salsa (optional) more for the adults as salsa can be spicy

In a frying pan with a 1 tbs olive oil toss in the peppers, onions and beans – let cook until the veggies are real soft. Add in the rice and seasoning – the Mexican seasoning may have something spicy – leave that out and taste things as you put them in – you know your baby and what he will/will not eat. Zap a tortilla in the microwave for 12 seconds – you can do this in the oven but I find they are easier for a baby to eat gummy than crispy. Lay the tortilla out flat and spread on greek yogurt (thin) and add the topping from the pan (thin). Add shredded cheddar on top and slice and peel the avocado and put thin slices on top. Fold in half and cut up to bite size pieces – this will be a messy meal but delicious!

I really enjoy these burritos too, the beans and avocado add lots of protein!

Love,

PlusPeace

Recipe Night #2

Day #2 of Recipe Madness! Ok not really madness but it is fun and healthy!

On the menu I snagged this recipe from wholesomtoddlerfood.com and I love to eat them too!

"1 16-oz package frozen chopped spinach, cooked, drained, and chopped further if needed
1 cup Seasoned bread crumbs - (3/4 cup breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup wheat germ or flax meal is a healthy substitution!)
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese Try tomato & basil cheddar!)
3 Large eggsor 5 egg yolks

Heat oven to 375F

1. Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.
2. Combine all remaining ingredients and mix well. *Add seasonings if you like - garlic powder, pepper, extra basil & oregano for example. Add a fruit or veggie puree to substitute for the eggs if desired*.
3. Shape mixture into nuggets or fun shapes such as squares or squigglies etc..and place on baking tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turn nuggets over after 15 minutes. Serve warm

You can "roll" this out and then try using small cookie cutters to make these into fun shapes"

Serve with cottage cheese and peeled grapes - and whole milk of course!

Love,
PlusPeace

Day #1 - Recipe Madness!

Upon request I will be posting a balanced meal-a-day in hopes to have a week’s worth of dinners or lunches with a few breakfast and snack suggestions along the way. If anyone has any recipes they’d like to share, please feel free to comment or email me hollybean5445@hotmail.com

Day #1 On the Menu:
Veggie, Chicken & Rice Smoosh
Apple Sauce
Oyster Crackers
Whole Milk
Graham Cracker

Veggie, Chicken & Rice Smoosh (this is enough for extras to freeze)
-2 Whole Carrots
-1 Celery Stick
-5 (or a small handful of) Pearl Onions
-5 Small Red Potatoes (peeled)
-1 Jar of (your choice of brand) Vegetable Barley Baby Food OR 1 small can of Tomato Paste
-1 baby Spoonful of Better Than Bullion Chicken Bullion (I use the reduced sodium) OR use home-made Chicken Broth in place of Bullion and Water.
-1 Cup of Water (give or take)

Prep your veggies – wash everything thoroughly! Thick grate carrots or chop into rounds, cut up celery, peel the onions and chop the potatoes into halves. Toss into a pot with ½ cup of water or chicken broth. Cover and Steam until the water is gone, add bullion (if you didn’t use broth) and the other half cup of water. Steam until the veggies are mushy all the way through. Dump in the jar of Vegetable Barley baby food or can of tomato paste. Depending on the stage your baby is in the next step will vary.
For 12 months + use a potato masher and mash everything in the pot until it is chucky but able to be fed with a spoon (this is the equivalent of stage 3+ foods) If your baby is younger pour into the blender when cool and puree for a thin consistency.
I usually make enough to either freeze or put in the fridge to use the rest of the week. 1 portion of this is equivalent to 1 jar of Gerber 2nd foods (if you serve with apple sauce and crackers) if not use a 3^rd foods jar – I cant remember ounces, but will post more on serving sizes later.

To make the rice, I still use rice cereal of your choice and mix with chicken broth. For applesauce, you can either make your own by coring a sweet apple and steaming in the oven until mooshy and pureeing until smooth or buy the kind in squeeze packets at the grocery store.

I serve this with oyster crackers because they are just the right size for small fingers and dissolve quickly in baby’s mouth.

For desert a graham cracker will do =] I usually serve whole milk with meals – or formula if you have not switched yet!

Enjoy!

PlusPeace