Quick Tip: Fewer Dishes!

It's no secret. If you cook from scratch, you will inevitably have a lot of dirty dishes, including what seems to be every measuring device you own. 

To reduce my dishwashing load, I eyeball most measurements unless I'm baking something finicky, like cakes and cookies. Here's how:

Tip 1:

Hold the measuring cup above the bowl and pour next to it, directly into the bowl. The measuring cup serves as a reminder of how much you're aiming to pour in.

Tip 2: 

If you're not confident in eyeballing your measurements, take a minute to look at your recipe. A little basic math can help you. Will you need a tablespoon someplace and a 1/4 cup someplace else? 

I very frequently use 4 tablespoons instead of dirtying up my 1/4 measuring spoon. Or, fill larger measuring cups halfway for smaller increments. My baked oatmeal recipe is a great example of only needing to dirty a half cup and a teaspoon (I even measure the milk in the dry measuring cup since it doesn't need to be precise here).

Sometimes, I mix up in my head what the equivalents are, so I reference Martha Stewart's Cooks Helpers that I have on my fridge as a quick refresher. 

Printing these out on magnetic paper or adhering a couple of magnets on the back of cardstock would make a great present topper for any cooking-related gift!

Splash pad, sprinkler, pool...

We're blessed to have near us a fun "splash pad" water play zone intended for toddlers to run around and, well, splash. Oh, and it's free.

This is LE's "I think I'm funny" face.

I take LE to the splash pad when we have playgroups that meet up there. This day, we went with John since he had never been, and I thought it'd be fun. The whole park is really nice-- there's a pond, two playgrounds, a couple of covered picnic areas, and little soccer fields.

It always takes LE a while to warm up to the idea of running through freezing cold water. What you don't see in these photos are all of the times that I led her out into the water area. Then, when she's ready, she plays with the dinkiest water source available. Can you even see the water coming out of the turtle's forehead? 

After barely touching it or getting sprayed by the water spout that suddenly turned on, she runs back to the sidelines. 

At the splash pad, kids her age are all independently trying to figure out the water, and the bigger kids are all running around screaming. There's not a lot of interaction going on with the little ones. The wonder and amusement for 1-2 year olds come from touching the water. 

I must say, it's really nice to have access to this splash pad when there's a lot of us wanting to get together or to have a change of pace. Though, if you don't happen to have access to a free toddler-friendly water playground... for kids LE's age, your own sprinkler or little pool can provide just as much fun. I promise.

Photo from when LE was playing with her Granny in St. Louis

Small blow up pool that we have on our patio

You can see the excitement and sense of wonder on her face at the splash pad, with a water hose, and with a little pool. The key is just to get your kids outside and let them explore how water works! You don't need anything fancy to let them learn and have fun.

Quick Tip: Sticky Ingredients

Measuring Sticky Ingredients

When you have to measure sticky and hard-to-pour ingredients-- like honey, nut butters, and condiments, do one of two things to save yourself the hassle of scraping out the measuring cup.

1. Spray the cup with nonstick cooking spray, or
2. Use the measuring cup for your oil measurement beforehand. Then, without rinsing out the cup, measure your sticky ingredient. Many recipes have you add the two ingredients to the same bowl to whisk together, but more often than not, the oil is listed after the sticky one in the recipe, which means you're stuck scraping out the cup.

It's simple and effective. Will life be drastically different if you don't do it? No. But it's just one less hassle. Honestly, I was skeptical about the difference it'd make when I first heard this tip, but now I always think about it when cooking.

Summer On-the-Road Survival Kit + Free Paper City Printables

LE and I are spending more and more time away from the house now that the sun has decided to stick around Madison. There are a few extra things to keep in the car for impromptu park visits, outdoor naps, and play stops.  Since John and I switch cars back and forth a fair amount in the warmer months (we both prefer the one with the sun roof), we needed a solution to make the switch easy.

My favorite way of keeping things organized with all of the extra stuff for LE during road trips is by using a big clear plastic bin, labeled with the contents inside the lid. While we're away from the home, we use the bin as her play center and then when it's time to go, we can always make sure that we leave with everything that we arrived with.

It only made sense to create a bin to transfer from car to car. filled with  the summer surplus. That way, we'll always have our Summer On-the-Road Survival Kit with us without going through the effort of taking out everything one by one.

Here's what our kit includes:

• small blanket to cover the grass for picnics or outdoor naps
• towel for after we splash in the water or get dirty
• swim diaper-- you never know if the splash pad calls our name when we're out
• sunscreen
• first aid kit
• point & shoot digital camera
• snacks
• umbrella to shield the sun at picnics or naps
• book 
• token toy
• bucket
• insect repellent wipes
• diaper clutch
• sunhat

What would you put in yours?

If LE were a year or two older, I'd be inclined to keep paper cities with us, too. Not just for the summer, but really any time that there's a possibility of being away from the home with limited entertainment.

Have you seen the paper cities at Made by Joel? He has free printouts for cities, people, helicopters, cars, etc. The kids color them in, cut them out (or you do), crease them to get it to stand, and then they have a super portable city to play with! He has a lot of inexpensive, creative ideas for imaginative play time. You should go check it out if you haven't already.

All paper city photos are from the Made by Joel website.


Here's where I linked up!

Removing the "huh?" out of starting solid foods

At LE's 4 month mark, I was eager to get her started on cereal in the hopes that it'd help her sleep longer than two hours at a time. I went out and bought the cereal, attempted to feed it to her, and she refused. She didn’t know what the heck a spoon is and the bland, sticky stuff on the end of the foreign object was not appealing to her. Four attempts later, I still only managed to get a spoonful here and there in her. Then, after waiting a week, adding cinnamon, and trying again… she opened her mouth for it!  I couldn’t believe the amount of pride that I felt for her doing such a seemingly simple task that I do so mindlessly as an adult.

Even though I was really eager to get her to start eating, I quickly realized I didn’t know much more than that. I could figure out how to mix up the cereal, but how much should she eat? How often? In addition to or in place of her milk?

I'm hoping this post will help show you first-time moms out there that it's not hard to introduce solids, and please, please make your own baby food! Not only is it more nutritious and way cheaper, but it's so (reiterate: SO) simple. If you already have a pretty well-stocked kitchen, you probably won’t need more to buy any more equipment other than what you already have. Although some people I’m sure swear by them, you don’t need the special baby food puree systems like Beaba.

Here's What You'll Need:

• Small to medium sized pot (preferably with a lid)
• Steamer (you could just use the pot if you want, but this is better for some veggies)
• Mine is the stovetop kind (see photo of the carrots below). You could use the countertop ones, too.
• THRIFTY TIP: If you don’t have a steamer but want to steam veggies, you can use a metal colander that rests on top of a regular pot. Put some water in the pot and the veggies in the colander.  
• Ice cube trays (I have just 2; you can find them at the dollar store, Wal Mart, etc)
• Or, you can use any small freezer-safe containers that you want.
• THRIFTY TIP: Some places will say that you should buy a whole slew of containers or trays, but you really don’t need to. If you have more puree than what will fit in your containers, freeze what you can and refrigerate the extra. A few hours later or the next day or so, pop out the frozen ones into Ziploc baggies or larger freezer-safe containers. Reuse the trays for the rest of the refrigerated food.
• Ziploc style baggies or large freezer-safe containers, used to store the food in the freezer.
• Plastic wrap (optional)
• Writing utensil to label the bags or containers
• Blender, immersion blender, potato masher, manual ricer, or food processor.
• I use this immersion blender, and it works wonderfully. It's under $30, and you can use it for a ton of things other than just baby food. 

Tips!

• Your baby will most likely not be eager to take that first bite off of the spoon. They may be curious, but after the first taste of something other than their formula or breast milk, they may get turned off. Don’t be dismayed or force it. Just stop and try again a couple of days later. Rumor has it, breast milk fed babies take to solids faster than formula fed babies because breast milk tastes different depending on what foods the mom ate.
• Until your baby is one year old, breast milk or formula should be the primary source of nutrition. That means that the solid food that you are giving is in addition to the milk! It is not a replacement of a meal. The goal is to work up to getting your baby to eat solids at breakfast time, lunchtime, and dinner time.

Let's Get Started!

Cereals  (as early as 4 months old, or when your doctor advises)

I did not waste my time making my own rice cereal. The box of cereal can run from $1-3, and it will last you a long time. My first box lasted 3 months! Plus, it’s important to buy cereal for babies so that it’s sure to be fortified with iron.

Start with just a tiny bit mixed in with formula or breast milk. Don’t anticipate success the first couple of times that you are trying to introduce it, so don’t waste a lot of your precious milk by making more than a spoonful. Simply add warmed breast milk or formula to the cereal keeping in mind the cereal thickens as it’s mixed in; a little bit goes a long way. Make the first tastes very runny, and feel free to add some cinnamon! 


Veggies (as early as 6 months old, or when your doctor advises)

The first tastes of veggies are really so, so simple to make.  These are veggies that have a low risk of allergies and are easy to digest.

• Carrots (see image below!)
• Sweet Potato – same instructions as carrots
• Green Peas (see image below!)
• Apples (ok, this is a fruit, not a veggie) Wash, peel, and core then follow the green peas method, increasing the cook time until the apples are tender
• Squash (I didn’t do squash yet because summer squash isn’t in season) same instructions as carrots
• Avocado – give little tastes that are mashed in your fingers; Must be consumed immediately as it will not keep!
• Bananas – use bananas with brown on the peel to ensure it’s sweet enough; mash some with a fork and stir in a little breast milk or formula to thin out; Must be consumed immediately as it will not keep!  

General Tips for First Tastes

• Most baby foods are freezer friendly. You can defrost in the fridge overnight, on the counter for an hour or so before feeding, or just heat it up frozen in the microwave or on the stove.
• Applesauce can be used in just about everything! I keep some in the fridge at all times, and when something gets warmed up too hot, I spoon some of the applesauce into it to cool it off.
• Cereal can be used to thicken up anything that’s a little too runny. LE really liked cereal made with really runny carrots + pumpkin pie spice. Cereal can also be used to tame the taste of something, like tart apples.
• Don’t be afraid to add spices! Experiment, but use your head. Don’t add hot spices, and steer clear of salt in the starter foods. LE’s favorites are curry powder, cinnamon, apple/pumpkin pie spices (which are mostly cinnamon plus cloves and ginger).
• Until after 12 months, stay away from trouble foods, like peanut butter, nuts, honey, eggs, sugar, and cows milk. Also, be extra careful if your family is prone to an allergy of a certain food, and some sources say to stay away from wheat and berries (especially strawberries but blueberries are fine).
• One ice cube = about one ounce.
• As with all of my groceries, I adhere to the dirty dozen, clean fifteen lists when deciding whether or not to buy organic. You can do as you want. Here's a link to the list and a link to a PDF wallet printable. 
• Only introduce a new food once every few days so that if there’s a sensitivity or allergy, you will know what it’s from without further trial and error.
• THRIFTY TIP: Coffee mugs are great for microwaving and serving the food when they aren't spooning food to themselves yet. 
 

After the First Tastes: 

• Make soup purees that you would eat, too, like Butternut Squash Soup. Or, if you are making soup for your family, make a separate pot with similar ingredients for your baby.   
• For example, make a simple chicken soup with water, chicken meat, celery, carrots, onion, a few peppercorns, some thyme or oregano, and a bay leaf. Simmer on the stove until it’s all tender, remove the bay leaf and peppercorns, and puree. This freezes well! 
• Feed foods that are in bite-sized pieces instead of just purees.  Get creative! You'll probably notice that you baby will want to taste all of your foods, too. Give tastes from your plate if it’s tender and small. Remember to stay away from trouble foods, like peanut butter, nuts, honey, and cows milk. Also, be extra careful if your family is prone to an allergy of a certain food, and some sources say to stay away from wheat and berries (especially strawberries but blueberries are fine).

• Buy some Cheerios-style cereal to let your little one try to feed himself with. They'll first start with palming the whole thing, then using three fingers, and then just the two fingers to pinch the cereal. It's great for their fine motor skills, it is fortified with vitamins, they get to practice chewing, and they tend to like the different texture.

• Instead of feeding pureed carrots, give a few bits of cooked carrots that are broken into bite sized pieces. Or, give some cooked beans or bits of cauliflower. Anything that can get broken up by gumming it to death is great (once again, stay away from trouble foods as mentioned twice above). Your baby will try to stuff as much in his mouth as possible, so give small quantities at a time and monitor him to be sure he doesn’t choke. 

Some Good Resources I Used:  

• My doctor 
• BabyCenter.com's section on solid foods 
• Top 100 Baby Purees: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy and Happy Baby by Annabel Karmel (THRIFTY TIP: check it out of your library like I did. I'm sure your library will have tons of options, but this one is a good one.)

Have fun with it! It’s such a great time!

Why I Am a Genius

I pretty much felt like a mom genius (that's the highest level of genius, right?) when I thought of the perfect pacifier travel container: the smallest size of the Rubbermaid storage containers. I keep one for the clean pacifier(s) and one for the pacifier that inevitably dropped from her mouth. I like Rubbermaid's brand the best because it's sturdy, snaps into each other, and has squared edges. Other brands, like Gladware, would work for this, too.

Hybrid Diapers

In the beginning, we were doing just disposable diapers since LE was going through about 10 or so a day, and we wanted to ease into the hybrids. Hybrid diapers are a cloth diaper with a disposable insert. There's less waste that way.

For disposable diapers, Pampers were best for newborn; Huggies leaked every time. Huggies Newborn size were good once LE outgrew Pampers Newborn but was too small for Pampers size 1.

We still have a lot of disposable diapers to go through since we bought a case of size 1 Pampers right after she was born. Right now she's using those about half the time and gdiapers about half of the time.

We are fortunate to have a store here that has a try 'em, love 'em, or return 'em policy that lets you buy their cloth diaper shells (or even the cloth inserts) and try them for 15 days. If you don't love them, you can return them for a full store credit. Then, they have a sale a few times a year to sell the returned washed and stain-free diapers.

So, I tried flip diapers, gdiapers, and Gro Baby diapers with flip diaper inserts and the gdiaper inserts, and the winner for me are gdiapers for both the insert and the shell. Gdiaper diposable inserts are also flushable (see a video on their website) and compostable (biodegrade in 50-150 days in the compost).

Gdiapers fit well and don't seem too bulky. They have a removable/reusable snap-in liner inside the cloth shell so that the mess gets on the liner instead of the cloth part. That way I don't have to wash the shell every time LE pees.

The downfall of gdiapers is that you buy sizes for them (small, medium, large) whereas Gro Baby and flip diapers are both a one-size diaper. You use snaps on those diapers to resize them so that you don't have to buy the expensive ($13-16ea) shell when they grow.

The flip diaper was bulky. The liner was built-in (instead of snapped in like the gdiaper), and the insert didn't attach to anything, which caused it to bunch up and get pee on the shell (and sometimes on me). The shell has to get washed every time she goes. I ended up returning the flip diaper to the store.

The Gro Baby diaper fits well, and I really like it except it doesn't have the snap-in liner like the gdiaper, which means that the shell has to be washed more frequently.

How do they compare price-wise? The inserts for the hybrids are about the same as disposable diapers. You're just helping out the environment/landfills. Cloth diapering is where you'll find the real savings, and once you get comfortable with the hybrid option, you could switch to the cloth diapering option and use the same shells.

Organize Your Diaper Space

Apparently, I'm not the best at being a consistent blogger. I'll work on that.

I've seen some blogs where people ask how others organize their diaper changing area and whether or not they use a changing table. I read before we had Lauren that changing tables were one of those things that you can opt out of if you're looking to save money. John questioned my idea of loading her bottom dresser drawer with diaper supplies and changing her on the floor, but it's worked out well. We also have a basket that holds diaper supplies downstairs, too, so that we don't have to go upstairs every time she needs to get changed. I think my favorite part is that everything is easy to access yet tucks away to leave no evidence of diapering (see the downstairs basket in the image below).

Upstairs, we put her dresser in the closet instead of out in the room. It's not a particularly pretty dresser, and we considered painting it... but when it came down to it, the closet seemed like the best place. Plus, I like having the space on top as a drop-off point to put her clothes that still need to be hung up but time doesn't allow at the moment.

The drawer and basket each have the following:

1. A cheap cloth diaper (used as a rag and not as a diaper)
2. Waterproof cloth
3. Supply of diapers, stacked
4. Diaper rash cream and/or barrier cream
5. Wipes
6. Lined trash can nearby

You can see the cloth diaper and waterproof cloth folded and stacked on top of each other. In actuality, we keep the cloth diaper folded inside the waterproof cloth so that we don't have to unfold them separately. The waterproof cloth unfolds to a couple of feet to protect Lauren from the floor and the floor from Lauren (from now on called LE (pronounced "Ellie") in the blog). The cheap cloth diaper goes just under her butt to catch any waterfalls and such that may occur during the change. That allows us to launder the more expensive and sensitive waterproof cloth about once a week instead of about once a day.

In the photo, you see just disposable diapers. We are using up the last of our supply of those as we integrate the hybrid diapers into the mix. Our downstairs basket has the supply of hybrids whereas our upstairs drawer just has disposables. Eventually, we'll just have hybrids in both places. Future generations, I'll be waiting for my thank-you card.