Making Baby Food

Even after having 2 other kids I find myself doing things differently.  I worked with my first child and never thought about making baby food. I just bought many,many little jars weekly.  With my second I stayed home from work, but still never thought about making baby food.  Now I am going back to work I find myself making my own baby food for my 3rd.  It is so easy and no little jars to rinse and recycle! 

This weekend I went to the farmers market to purchase my fresh organic veggies.  I bought carrots, green beans, broccoli, and sweet potatoes.  I came home and went to work.  After steaming all veggies I pureed them in my little food processor with a bit of water to a smooth texture.  Then I place spoonfuls into new, cleaned ice trays.  After frozen I popped the cubes out into freezer bags and now I am set for a many meals.  It was quick, cheep, and kinda fun.

 

 

Guess I will have to have another baby just to master this new skill :)

Firefly Fun

This is something I remember doing as a child that my kids have not done.  One reason is due to the fact that they are in bed before the summer sun sets.  For some that might seem early, but so is 6AM.  That would be the time they wake up!

So one night I surprised them by saying we should go out back and see if we can catch any fireflies. They were excited and grabbed their jars.  When they got outside they started looking for the flash of light. 

A was super excited at each and every light. She quickly shouted out it's location and pointed.  She had no desire to catch one however.  Mommy had to do that.

B was more daring on the touching a bug part.  She had a good amount in her jar before letting them go.  We all lasted about 15 minutes and then came back in due to the other bugs that came out too.

Girl Fun

I saw these in the most recent Klutz catalog and thought they sounded like fun.  The only problem was that I couldn't find them around.  Then as luck would have it I found them at Borders the other night.  Even more luck was that I had a 40% off coupon that I used too!!!  The girls and I decided to try them the very next day.  We are LOVING them.  It is super easy and the paints make quite a few.  The hardest part is waiting a full 24 hours till they are wearable.  This is now a playdate staple.  I highly recommend them.  Now if I can only figure out what kind of paint they use I am golden.  The replacement kit of paint is $12.00 not including shipping.  That is more than I paid for the kit in the first place. Plus the only colors they sell are the same that come in the kit.  Guess it means I will have to hit my neighborhood Joann's or Michael's and buy some different paints to try. 

Using the provided plastic and paints, drop dots of paint in a row.

For an additional effect use a toothpick and swirl the paint while wet.

When they dry it is a cool rubbery bracelet.  Oh I guess I don't have any after shots.  sorry!

Mexican Night Fun

We tried a new dish for dinner the other night.
 I made black bean tostadas. They were super easy and the girls had a lot of fun eating them.

6inch corn tortillas

3 Tbsp canola oil

1/2 large onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 15oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed

assorted optional toppings, lettuce, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream...

Preheat oven to 425.  Brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Lay on cookie sheet and bake until crispy, about 10 minutes, turning over halfway through.

While tortillas are baking warm 1 Tbsp oil on skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute' until soft and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add garlic and saute' 1 minute longer.  Reduce heat to low and add beans and 2 Tbsp water.  Mash mixture with a potato masher or back of fork and cook until heated through. Divide bean mixture among tortillas.  Layer with toppings and serve.

I had the toppings on the table and the girls made their own.  It was fun and they really liked this simple, quick dinner.

Smores On A Stick

At "Camp Mommy" today I had the girls make Smore's on a Stick.

It was easy for them to do alone and really there was not much of a mess for me to clean up when they were finished. That alone means it is a good activity.

What you will need is...
***graham crackers crushed up. (I used pre crushed that I had left over from a pie crust)
*** marshmallows
*** melted chocolate (can be chips, bark, candy making... any kind)
*** sticks

Put a marshmallow on each stick and get ready to dip.

Dip each in chocolate and then...


Roll in the graham crackers to coat.
You could also roll them in candy pieces or sprinkles. Then...

Lay them on waxed paper to harden.

If you need them quickly place the tray in the fridge.

The girls had just as much fun making them as they have had eating them. I will say they taste pretty good too. They don't beat a melted marshmallow smore, but they will do.

Our dog "DOG"

For years now the husband has suggested that we get a dog. instead I have a new baby. This time both the old babies and the hubby wanted a dog. Being that I again have a new baby, I was not so into this idea. However a friend of mine helps place dogs into foster homes. I checked into the details of this "foster" home. It sounded like the perfect intro to adding a dog to the family. So after seeing this little one I decided we could try this.

He is super cute and the girls loved him right away. I have to admit , I did too. However it was short lived. by the 3rd day the joy of owing a dog was over. I figured as much, but still kept him around. In fact we kept him for a week before we decided that this little guy was not the right dog for us. It was a great lesson for all of us but mostly for my husband. Perhaps now the dog wanting phase is over.

Baby Crafting

I have been able to get my crafting hat on for a few minutes each day. I am glad to say that baby B has stuck to a 2 hour morning nap. (CHEER!!!) This has allowed me a bit of time to work on a few things that have been on my "want to make list" since he was born 5 months ago. Luckily for me a friend of mine just had a new baby girl, so the urge to sew hit me hard. I decided to make a few burp cloths somewhat following the tutorial from Homemade by Jill. I really liked how they turned out.

I then kept going. I have found that Baby B really likes his crinkle blanket, so I whipped one of those up too.

I love this fabric. It is super cute and soft since it is a flannel. The ribbons are a fun touch.

Lastly I made my favorite personalized onesie. I have a new sewing machine which has an embroidery stitch. I am getting used to it, so this might not be the best. I think my favorite part was adding the little bling in the middle of the flowers. Every girl needs bling!

Lastly I wanted to make a little something for the mom. Since this is her 6th child, I figured she has gotten many a baby present in her day. I wanted to find something just for her. After searching the Internet for a little I came across some special cookies. These "magic" cookies help produce more breast milk. Hey, that is what they claim. I decided to google a little more and found an oatmeal chocolate chip recipe to try. Now all I had to do was find where I could buy brewers yeast (the magic ingredient). Luckily Whole Foods carries it :) The recipe makes a whole lot of cookies so there were plenty for me to keep and give some as a gift. I eat one a day and I swear they work. I have been pumping a bunch to stock up for my return to work.



So that about covers my crafting for a few days. Love me a baby to make things for!