Surprise! It’s a Healthy Snack Post! Here’s a book that I found to have some great recipes for afternoon snacks for the kids. I made 6-8 different bar-style recipies from this book and the kids and I enjoyed every one of them. Her ingredients are non-processed and therefore easy to find in your local (Winco?) bulk bins.
Belated Healthy Snack Post! October 5, 2009
Francesca Battistelli September 18, 2009
I love this chick! (…AND my husband and I “discovered” her before her music hit the major markets…isn’t it fun when that happens?!) :-) I think she’s super talented, super encouraging, and her music is a great mix of laid back and upbeat all at once. We think she’s great and hope you do too!
Christo-centric rap electic September 15, 2009
Get ready to groove, ladies. This is awesome, encouraging, energizing hip hop. Awhile ago, Gretchen posted about how the same music that gets her through working out helps her do the dishes at the end of a long day. I have to agree. I have had Rebel by Lacrae for several months now and I can’t get enough. I love the lyrics, I love what these godly Black men are doing producing quality hip hop with redeemed lyrics.
Sample some music from Rebel here. You can purchase it here.
Lastly, click the link and you can listen to and read the lyrics from one of my favorite tracks, Identity:
In Christ she is loved she secure and accepted/ She’ll never be rejected by God who’s elected her/ Her beauty is her Godliness/ and she ain’t gotta try to flaunt it cause it’s obvious/ Identity is found in the God we trust/ Any other identity will self destruct
I’m not the shoes I wear. I’m not the clothes I buy/ I’m am not the house I live in/ I’m not the car I drive/ I’m not the job I work /You can’t define my worth/ By nothing on God’s green earth, my identity is found in Christ
Recharging- day by day August 26, 2009
I am SO NOT a morning gal…so waking up to bickering children starts off the day all wrong for me and often there can be no coming back. There are a few ways I’ve found to switch the mood of the day and kind of have a “do-over” (as my friend Christine likes to call it). One way is simply stating the do-over. It works suprisingly well for me and my almost-4-year-olds. :-)
Another thing we started doing this last spring is a little something I like to call after-baby-goes-
down-for-a-nap-and-before-it’s-time-for the-twins-to-rest-GAME-TIME (got that?). After we’ve picked up the house and had lunch, we read a few books and then play a round or two of a favorite game before rest time. Our currents favs are Castle Candyland (for those days when we’re short on time) and Zoo Match. Zoo Match is like three sided domino cards with animals instead of dots that you match up. Our kids are totally addicted. Playing games with my kids is something that gives us all a chance to sit down, spend uninterrupted semi-structured time together, and reset our day. If the morning was difficult for one (or more…) people it allows rest time to start on a upswing- rather than entering rest time in conflict or frustration.
One way our family finds to recharge the batteries is by taking a walk to a nearby school or park (this evening it’s the Glendoveer Fitness Trail) and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation and the fresh air together. I’ve found this is especially helpful for my husband and I as we get a chance to talk at the end of the day and there are no dirty dishes or overgrown lawns vying for our time. Plus, it helps get the wiggles out of the children before they head to bed for the night.
my favorite board books June 29, 2009
I’m sure you’ve heard enough from me this week already, but I have been wanting to post this book we found at the library. It is incredibly fun to read and the kids adore it.
It’s called Trucks Go by Steve Light. Every page has enjoyable illustrations and includes the fun sounds that trucks make, like “Burbaba Burbaba Whirr Whirr.” This reminds me that board books make a great baby gift. Some of the most-read board books we own are some I received for Byron. They are the Byron Barton series: Trucks, Planes, Boats, Airplanes. Both my girl and boy love these books.
The good, the bad and the ugly June 26, 2009
Here are a few of my reviews on baby/kid items that we have used!
The Good:
One of my favorite baby things was our bouncy seat! We were given a seat before the birth of our first and then given another at the birth of our second. They are a life saver when it comes to doing things with 2 hands while your baby is awake, like blow drying your hair, folding laundry or showering (and they can be good for napping a gassy baby too!) They DO both have buckle for holding your baby in place too, if you are not keeping an eye on them or holding a photo shoot ;) Just like most baby things, you can find a full range of styles and prices, but really, I think the $25 Fisher-Price one did the job well, even if it is a bit of an eye sore!
Maclaren Rocker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fisher-Price Bouncer
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Another simple, classic hit around here has been the Ikea Block Wagon. I’m not sure if you can still get it, but here is a similar one by Melissa & Doug. It was so fun to see our son’s mind go to work with stacking the blocks, pulling the wagon and just playing with something a little simpler than most of the toys out there today!
The Bad:
I did not have much success with these bowls by Munchkin. The idea was nice, but my kids thought it was more fun to try to get the bowl up off the tray/table which resulted in some big messes as the bowl reluctantly released! Having some covered bowls is great for taking homemade baby food on the road and I found that the set of 2 for $.97 at Walmart did wonderfully!
The Ugly:
I had to use this cute title, but I must admit I haven’t run across anything that I swore I would never use again (or at least I can’t remember it)! I do echo Leah’s sentiments about the Desitin cream … leave it and pick up the ointment instead! You can even go for the generic A+D ointment and have great results!
Like it, Love it, or Leave it… June 25, 2009
Here are my takes on some great…and not so great….baby/kid products. I hope you find it helpful!
Love it: The Beco Butterfly II child carrier. I LOVE THIS product. Can I say it again? I LOVE IT!! We used Bjorn baby carriers with the twins and thought they were a pretty nifty product with pretty good quality. We even used a Bjorn with Miles for the first 6 months or so. Then I found out about the Beco from one of my friends and after test-driving hers, fell in love and made it my mission to sell enough other random baby stuff on CL that I could buy myself a Beco carrier. They blow the silly Bjorn out of the water. They allow you to tote your child along until they are 45 lbs if you need to for some strange reason. :-) The downside? They are pricey, but I personally think that they are SO worth it! I can tote Miles with me on the front or the back (piggy back style) and not feel a thing in my lower back or shoulders for hours- seriously, for hours!! The Beco is my new best friend in the baby product world. Miles loves to hang out back there and I love not pushing a stroller though crowded areas or trying to store one in the back of the car. Here is a site you can use to buy Beco returns and Beco seconds if you wish- that does ease the sticker shock a bit.
Love it: Nalgene Everyday Grip-N-Gulp Water Bottle. We have these for the twins and love them. They don’t break, they clean up well, they hold 12 oz of water, and they have a great loop for the kids to carry it by or to hook onto a carabiner with. Plus, they come in fun colors. :-)
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Love it: Johnson’s Buddies Soap. This is great! There are often coupons for $3 off 3 Johnson’s baby products online, making buying three of these at a time (often priced at .97 at Target)….FREE! They’re great- they don’t require any adult help to get the suds going, they don’t slip out of your kid’s wet hands, and at FREE- it’s a great deal. :-)
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Like it: The dreaded excersaucer. They take up TONS of space, but if you can snag one for under $10 off Craigslist or a garage sale, then I think it’s well worth the space and the $. Speaking as a mom of multiples: this is a MUST HAVE. Speaking as a mom of a singlet: this is a take it or leave it. :-)
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Leave it: Desitin. Poor Desitin, it gets used in the worst of places in the worst of times….and then it doesn’t even work very well. Skip over the creamy stuff (blue box) and go strait for the Desistin Original (purple). After trying a plethora of creams, we accidently bought some of the original when the twins were little and were pleasently shocked at it’s superiority to it’s creamy counterpart. Our experience was that the creamy version does practically NOTHING and the original clears up the issue…litterally- overnight! Happy bum= Happy baby.
My not-so-favorite kid items June 22, 2009
I have made quite a few bad purchases as a mom so far and so I thought I would NOT recommend the following products (and explain what exactly it is that is annoying about each thing).
The image above is a reclining booster by Safety 1st from a few years ago. You can strap it on a regular chair, which is nice. Unfortunately, it has tons of spots where food can get stuck and turn green. Literally the only way to get the junk out was to shake the whole thing upside down relentlessly in the back yard. When you are shopping for a high chair, check for places in the seat where food could fall or get stuffed. It looks like the latest model of this chair has easy-to-wipe padding all the way under the child, so it might work better.
These newborn gowns are super cute, but I personally don’t recommend them for first-time parents. The first days with Ruth were mostly a blur but the problems I had with these are ingrained in my memory. They were so hard to get over the baby’s head, all the way down the body, and over the arms. I think this had to do with the fact that with the first, you feel a little like you are going to break them or something. There are other good infant options out there, so for you first-timers, I’d suggest getting something with some easy snaps down the front.
This is not the exact car seat that we didn’t like, but it’s very similar. I’m sure ours isn’t on the market anymore. Some things that were difficult about our convertible car seat were that when it was facing backwards, we couldn’t reach the adjustment strap on the front bottom because it was angled into our Accord’s back seat. That was frustrating. Then, when it was turned forward, it wouldn’t adjust well either, because the straps in the back of the seat got hung on each other. The seat was also very bulky. Ask your friends for recommendations of a good convertible car seat. They must be designed well since they face both back and front. In addition, I recommend trying it out in your car.
to leave us on a happy note, here’s my “favorite baby stuff“ recommendation
These Safety 1st doorknob covers have been extremely useful to keep the kids out of our bedroom, out of their closets during naptime, out of the basement….. need I go on? These are totally worth the investment for peace of mind that your child is not into something unsafe or just something you don’t want them terrorizing :)
On the road again… March 17, 2009
Our family is driving down to California to visit my family this next week for Spring Break. Here some things you’ll find in our car:
The Fisher-Price Doodle Pro. Target carries this small and simple travel version (no loose pieces to drop in the car!) for about $5.
We also love any of the I Spy style books. You can find ones for any age at Walmart and Target…and sometimes even at the dollar store. It’s a great activity the kids can do on their own in the car. And again, no small pieces to fall on the floor of the car.
We have certain fun snacks that we ONLY get when we are taking a long car trip. Our kids look forward to the trip to the store to get these oh-so-exciting items and anxiously await the time Mom and Dad whip them out in the car. Here are the goodies we have embraced:
Tip: Get your raisins out of Winco bulk and then put them in small ziplocks before you leave home. Same thing with the Teddy Grahams- get them in baggies before you leave home!
