Bundle of Troy

Family Party

2012-01-29T22:00:00.000-08:00

Today is my Aunt Mary's birthday and we had a celebration for her at my grandparent's house. For me, my grandparent's house in Santa Clara has always been synonymous with family parties since we have been having the bulk of them there for as long as I can remember. We haven't had one Christmas without going to my grandparent's house in my entire life. However, my grandparents are getting pretty old. It isn't exactly safe for them to be in their house alone any more, so my dad and his brothers decided to have them moved to an assisted living facility within the next few months. I know the decision was hard for my dad to make, but it is definitely what is best for them. Until the official moving day has been established, I am treating every family party like it might be our last one at that house with all those memories. I spent the first year and a half of my life with my grandparents in that house while my mom was working. I know the place my grandparents are going is very nice, but I will miss the familiarity and comfort of my home away from home. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Here are some pictures from the party.

Troy and my cousin Eric flying like Batman.

Reese and Mimi.

My amazing grandparents. They have been through a lot and have sacrificed everything for our family.

My dad and his youngest brother, Ken.

Eric provided the lovely soundtrack for the evening which included, ahem, several rounds of the Batman theme song on the piano.

I found an excuse to make some more homemade body scrub for my Aunt Mary's present.

Troy with Aunt Kelly.

I brought some cinnamon roasted pecans to the party and they were a huge hit! This recipes is delicious and gluten free. I think it would be really easy to wrap these up in a pretty bag and give them as gifts too. Here is how you do it:

Roasted Cinnamon Nuts

1 egg white
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. whole almonds or pecan halves - I used pecan halves and they were excellent!
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

In a large bowl whisk the egg white and vanilla until frothy, about 2 minutes. Stir in the nuts. Mix the remaining ingredients and add to the nuts. Stir to coat. Spread the nuts in a sprayed jelly roll pan (or baking sheet with a lip around the edge). Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes. Stir after the first half hour and again half an hour later. Nuts should be dry. Stir and bake a little longer if they are still sticky. Cool in the pan then transfer to a container.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Ray

2012-01-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrated Great Grandpa Ray's birthday. Troy has been on the birthday circuit as he knows birthdays usually mean cake and presents- even if the presents aren't for him. David's family did a great job of making the kids feel special tonight. They made Troy his favorite meal- buttered noodles- and then Troy got a hot fudge sundae for dessert. Both kids got a present too which was so thoughtful and completely unexpected. Nothing like a night at grandma and grandpa's house to make your kids feel loved. :)

Reese got pretty tired by the end of the festivities, but she kept it together really well. She just looked a little glazed over as we carried her to the car.

No party is complete without a dance party. Troy was right there to request all his favorites. I am so proud when Troy sings all the words to Foreigner songs, even if he does think it is Juicebox Hero instead of Jukebox Hero. Reese has taken to dancing with a cell phone to her ear.

Troy right after his hot fudge sundae. He was a happy camper tonight.

Going along with my recent crafty spurt, I have discovered the joy and cost savings of making my own body scrubs. This was incredibly easy, fun and inexpensive. I think they would make great gifts. I went to Michaels and picked up some glass mason jars for a few dollars each. I also got some ribbon and gift tags to jazz them up for gifts. This was my first attempt at a peppermint foot scrub.
Here are a few recipes for homemade scrubs. I have only tried the peppermint foot scrub and vanilla lavender salt scrub so far, but I intend to make the others over the next few weeks. My skin feels really rejuvenated after using it- a perfect gift for this time of year.

Lavender Vanilla Salt Scrub

1/4 c mineral oil - you can find this in the drug store section of many grocery stores
1/2 cup sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
15 drops Lavender essential oil

1. Mix the sea salt and mineral oil together until all the salt is incorporated.
2. Add the vanilla extract and essential oils. Stir them into the salt/oil mixture until they are thoroughly incorporated.
3. Add one drop of blue food coloring.
4. Store in an airtight container. Use 2-3 times a week in the shower.

Brown Sugar and Honey Body Scrub

2 Tablespoon honey
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup mineral oil

Mix all the ingredients together very thoroughly. This scrub will be much thicker than the salt scrub above. Use it 2-3 times a week, and make sure you rinse off really well. Note: This will make your shower floor a bit sticky so make sure you rinse it well.

Peppermint Foot Scrub

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup mineral oil
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
10-12 drops of lavender essential oil (optional)
Drop of green food coloring

1. Mix the sugar and mineral oil together.
2. Add the peppermint extract, essential oil (optional), and the food coloring. Mix until the food coloring is completely incorporated.

Orange Vanilla Sugar Scrub

1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1/3 cup sweet almond oil
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Mix the sugar and almond oil together.
2. Add the orange and vanilla extracts and stir until they are incorporated.

I found the recipes for the scrubs here.

Library Book Sale

2012-01-27T21:54:00.000-08:00

Tonight we hit up the library book sale. I think I have mentioned this sale before, but I just can't get over how awesome they are! We got three giant bags of books- mostly hardback kid's books- for $65. We also got some excellent reference books such as an atlas and a few children's encyclopedias.

I really want the kids to grow up loving reading and the library as much as possible. We go to the library for story time quite a bit and the kids are really comfortable with the children's section. We read books before nap and bedtime every night and we bust out stacks of books to read several times throughout the day. I love that Troy has recently started "reading" to Reese. He points out the pictures and lets her turn the pages. It is so adorable!

On another note, Troy wanted to kick off the day with a tutu, a cowboy hat and his favorite pirate hook.

Then he wanted to ride Maximus, but he wasn't too thrilled about having his picture taken. I was impressed that he could hold on to the horse with his hook attached the whole time though.

Then Reese started getting feisty.

And she wanted her turn with the tutu.

While Troy switched over to his construction worker hat. Keep in mind that all this happened within a few minutes of waking up as David and I were scrambling to get us out the door for swimming. We are almost always late to our 9am swimming class.

Reese is doing pretty well with feeding herself these days.

And Troy still thinks its hilarious when she spills on herself...

Homemade Hair Detangler

2012-01-24T13:19:00.000-08:00

I have blogged before about making my own cleaning products and I have been making my own diaper wipe solution since I first started using cloth diapers with Troy, so making my own hair detangler appealed to me. I used to buy the hair detangler/leave in conditioner from my hair salon at $10.99 a pop so I am really saving a lot here. I got the idea from Money Saving Mom. Her Web site is spectacular for coupons, recipes and general parent and homemaker tips. Here is how you do it:

Squirt one dollop of hair conditioner into spray bottle (about 1 - 2 Tbsp).
Fill bottle with water (about 8 - 10 ounces).
Shake.

On another note, I was frantically looking around for my keys for about twenty minutes this morning. After a while I realized that Reese was being a little too quiet in the corner. Lo and behold, I found my keys! They do make a lovely necklace too.

Is There a Doctor in the House?

2012-01-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

We made an important addition to our dress up clothes today. Troy absolutely loves the doctor costume. I am not exaggerating when I say he wore that mask for well over an hour today.

And right by his side was his trusty assistant, Reese. She was very happy to hand Troy doctor instruments as he asked for them. I am not sure if she ever got the chance to actually wear the costume today, but Troy goes to preschool tomorrow so she will have her run of the place while he is gone.

After Reese went to bed, the boys decided to bust out the paint and easel. I loved looking on as David explained to Troy how the primary colors combine to make secondary colors. It is funny, even though David would have never thought of himself as a kid person before we had Troy, he has truly risen to the occasion. The kiddos are very lucky to have him as their dad and I think David is enjoying having them in our lives immensely.

And They're Off

2012-01-22T20:59:00.001-08:00

It's Troy in the lead riding Maximus (named after the horse in Tangled) with Reese riding her favorite cow (yet to be named). I love seeing what the kids come up with when they are waiting for dinner to be ready.
Troy takes his horse riding pretty seriously.

Speaking of dinner, I have had a couple of successes in the Troy-food department lately. I have two recipes that I would like to share. I hope that I am not boring anyone with all these recipes, but I like documenting them here so that I can access them easily. The first recipe is for oat cakes and they are great for breakfast. What I really like about them is that they are filling and quite healthy, but they look and taste a lot like pancakes- which made them a huge hit with Troy. I served them warm with a little butter and maple syrup. Email me if you want me to send you the site where I got this recipe. The second recipe is for an absolutely fabulous zucchini walnut muffin. These muffins are hearty and delicious and you can't taste the zucchini at all. My little muffin man seemed to enjoy these too.

As I was peeling and grating the zucchini today, I couldn't help but think of how far I have come in the cooking department. I very clearly remember 22 year old, newlywed me, struggling to make oatmeal on the stove. When David married me, it certainly was not for my culinary expertise and I really think David would have tolerated a lifetime of canned beans and frozen peas if that is all I ever made. However I am now very passionate about cooking all our family's meals and I put a lot of thought and effort into it. I don't claim to be an expert, but I enjoy tackling new recipes and Troy has certainly proven to be my biggest critic and my biggest motivation to continually do better. So here are two easy and good tasting recipes that Mr. Troy actually ate.

Oat Cakes

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups reduced fat milk
2 large eggs
2 tbsp. melted unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. fine grain sea salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
coconut oil (for cooking)

Use a food processor to grind the oats to a flour-like consistency.
Mix the ground oats with the milk, cover, and let the mixture soak
overnight in the fridge (12-24 hours).
Stir in the eggs, butter, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix well.
Cook over medium/low heat. Oat cakes take longer to cook than regular pancakes, and burn easily, so go slow.

Zucchini Muffins

3 cups grated fresh zucchini

2/3 cup melted unsalted butter

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons baking soda

Pinch salt

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup walnuts (optional)

1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.

"Pam" your muffin pan. Use a spoon to distribute the dough equally among the cups, filling them up completely. Bake on the middle rack until golden brown, and the tops bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.

Note, if you are including walnuts and dried fruit, you will likely have more batter than is needed for 12 muffins. I got about 18 muffins from this batch.

Mr. Big Stuff

2012-01-18T16:20:00.000-08:00

Troy is looking like such a big boy to me these days, especially just after he gets a haircut. Troy is not a fan of getting his haircut. He always sits on my lap and needs lots of reassurance that everything is okay and almost over. I am a big advocate of letting kids wear their hair however they want- so part of me thinks I should just skip the haircuts completely, but Troy absolutely hates having hair in his eyes. I guess we will keep doing this until he is old enough to tell me exactly what he wants. I have attempted to cut Troy's hair myself several times, but I haven't been very successful. At least I can justify the expense of the hair cutting kit I bought by giving David maintenance trims between his haircuts.

Troy is trying to teach Reese how to do the wave.

Sideways tea party.

Reese can now wear a ponytail! Who hoo!

Pirate DJ Reese.

Success

2012-01-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

One thing that has been a continual struggle for me is Troy's diet. When he was really little, Troy ate pretty well. I made zucchini puree and sweet potato puree and he gobbled it up. As he got older and more verbal, he slowly started rejecting foods he used to love. It happened gradually so I wasn't really worried about it at the time, but now at age three, I am faced with an extremely picky eater. Troy is very particular about texture and presentation, preferring not to eat bananas that have any spots or even pizza if the cheese is coming off the sides of the crust. Reese, on the other hand, will eat anything. She has scarfed down sauteed kale and she has a lot of my Grape Nuts cereal every morning. What one year old likes Grape Nuts?!

At any rate, I think Reese's willingness to at least try anything has made me realize how limited Troy's diet has become and I know I need to do something about it. There is one food that Troy will almost always eat which is muffins. Upon doing some research, there are a fair amount of healthy muffin recipes out there and many of them include hidden vegetables. I thought I would experiment with a few recipes and when I find one Troy likes, I will make a bunch and freeze them to have on hand for when we have meals I know Troy won't eat.

Shockingly, my first batch was a huge hit! I made these almond pumpkin muffins.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 cup blanched almonds

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup pureed pumpkin
3 large eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup raw honey
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter melted and cooled slightly

handful of chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350℉, and line muffin tins with paper liners.

Put almonds in a high-powered blender or food processor, and process until you have flour. Add the remaining ingredients, and puree until smooth. Then divide batter evenly into prepared muffin tins.

Bake for 25 minutes on the middle rack.

Both of the kids loved these. I served them for lunch with fruit and milk and I felt pretty good about it. I think I might attempt zucchini walnut muffins next time or some type of carrot recipe. Anyway, I hope I can continue to find foods that meet my nutritional requirements while meeting Troy's requirements...whatever those may be at the time.

I also wanted to write a quick review of the reusable swim diapers I have been using with Reese. They are called Bummis Swimmi reusable diapers. These are fabulous! Even if you strictly use disposable diapers, reusable swim diapers can be really easy to use. These swim diapers have held up very well after many many swim lessons and days at the pool. They have done well in the washing machine and the Velcro isn't starting to pull away or fray. We have definitely already saved a bundle using this over disposable swim diapers. :)

The Past Few Days

2012-01-12T20:51:00.000-08:00

It feels like things are getting really crazy lately and I am really not sure where my days go. When the kids finally go down at the end of the day, David and I sit and look at each other for a few minutes while we take in the silence and enjoy the luxury of getting to sit down! These kids really keep us on the go!

David came home for lunch today and enjoyed a meal with his little princess.

On the days that Troy goes to preschool, I would assume that Reese would enjoy having the toys all to herself plus all of my attention. However, just the reference of Troy's name sends her right over to the front door to start putting her shoes on. She can't wait to pick him up!

Here is Troy with his favorite teacher at preschool, Miss Alicia. As we were leaving school last week I asked Troy if he had a good day. He kind of dreamily responded, "Miss Alicia is so cute."

Troy has also taken to a new hobby of emptying out all the drawers in my kitchen. I am getting so tired of reorganizing them, but he has recovered a few things that I thought I lost...

I think this little one is going to be highly efficient...

Happy Birthday to my Better Half!

2012-01-08T21:10:00.001-08:00

Today is David's birthday. Pre-kids, I probably would have had the whole day planned with a picnic lunch at the beach, movie tickets and a homemade dinner. Unfortunately, all David got was the homemade dinner. The day kicked off with Troy needing to go to urgent care for an ear infection. The rest of the morning was spent going back and forth between pharmacies to get Troy his prescriptions and pain medicine. Then while the kids were napping, David retreated to the garage to fix our garage door opener- which just broke. It is really nice having a husband that is so handy around the house! At least I was able to get David his homemade dinner of choice- spaghetti and meatballs with marinara sauce simmering all day and made from scratch and an apple crisp for dessert. Last night David's family came over and we were able to have a mini celebration even if Troy was having a slightly rough night. Troy got a crown for turning 3 at preschool in November, so I simply added a 0 and was able to convert it into a crown for David!

Happy birthday David! I am sorry that the day wasn't perfect, but the kids and I love so you so much. I am so lucky to have you as my husband and best friend. Thank you for always being there for us.

David with some of his family last night.

My Super Star

2012-01-05T13:03:00.001-08:00

I just can't believe how big my little girl is getting. She is almost 16 months old now and she truly amazes me everyday. She is talking up a storm and starting to form some very strong opinions about what she wants to wear. My dreams of getting to dress up my little girl are pretty much out the window since she usually has very clear ideas of what she wants to wear. She loves baby dolls, food, books and music. Whenever we go out as a family, everyone always says that Troy looks just like me and Reese looks just like David. I really cherish the time Reese and I have together on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Troy is in preschool. Of course, I am always happy to pick up Troy too and I know that I get my special time with him on Mondays during parent participation preschool while Reese is with my mom.

This is her where did it go face she makes when she hides a doll and pretends she can't find it. :)

Happy New Year

2012-01-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it is 2012? I sure can't. 2011 was such an eventful year for us. I am not usually one to make resolutions, but my hope is that I will be able to enjoy the kids as much as possible this year and hopefully squeeze in some date nights with David. :)

There hasn't been too much exciting stuff going on around here, mostly just David and me trying to get back in the swing of things after being sick. One thing the kids have started doing is snuggling up in our bed together with the iPad. I only let them play with the iPad for a few minutes every day and it is really cute when they play together.

Troy would probably be horrified if he knew what Reese and I do with his toys when he is at preschool. However, Reese's baby doll can't have a tea party alone...

Batman continues to be Troy's toy of choice.

I am absolutely loving my Christmas present which was a bread maker. I have made two loaves so far.

My house smells amazing when the bread is baking. You know you want some!

On another note, I was trying to hang some things up around my house the other day and seriously the only hammer I could find was this.

Infuriating, however I was able to get the job done.

I hope you have a wonderful 2012!

Holiday Happenings

2011-12-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

This has been quite an eventful holiday for our family in both good ways and bad. Unfortunately, on Christmas Eve I spent most of the evening and the night in the emergency room for what we are pretty sure was gastroenteritis. It was absolutely horrible. Then came Christmas and I thought I had rounded a corner. We had the family over for Christmas brunch at our house and David and I cooked the whole thing. The kids had the time of their lives getting so many presents. Some of the gift highlights include a rocking horse, Lego's, endless Batman and pirate paraphernalia, baby dolls galore and a busy ball popper. By the end of the day, Troy had a glazed over look about him as he struggled to process everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. It was really a great Christmas and I am glad I was able to enjoy the kids even if I couldn't eat anything.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it for me. The day after Christmas I landed myself back in the emergency room for more of the same symptoms as well as dehydration. My recovery has been slow, but I am much more hopeful that I am through the worst of it now. David also started getting sick a couple days ago. Luckily he hasn't had to go to the ER at all and thankfully the kids haven't gotten it...yet... I am just sad to say that this vacation hasn't been very fun for any of us. I just hope that tomorrow we will be able to go for an outing as a family and move past this.

Here are some pictures from the holiday with the kiddos- this has been my favorite Christmas yet in spite of everything.

Christmas Eve morning Reese had no idea what the next few days would hold...

Breakfast on Christmas Eve morning with my Grandpa.

Christmas is here! Reese got lots of dress up clothes!

Troy had a love hate relationship with his Spiderman paddle ball.

My dad with his Kindle Fire!

I was on video camera duty and David was on the still camera. That's why there are no pictures of him. :(

Troy riding the horse while sporting a slinky on his wrist.

I hope your holidays were fun and memorable!

Who's Your Best Friend?

2011-12-23T14:08:00.000-08:00

Here is another short video that my sister shot. Even though Troy's answer to her question is unbelievably cute, he is somewhat distracted with trying to put my mom's glove over his ear...

Swimming Class

2011-12-23T13:50:00.000-08:00

I feel kind of funny posting about swimming class in the end of December, especially when it is so cold outside, but every Friday morning the kids have a swim lesson at an indoor swimming pool that is warmed up. We have been bringing Troy for a long time now, but we only recently started taking Reese. It is amazing how after just a few sessions Reese has been able to put her head completely underwater without complaining. Troy has earned quite a few ribbons and can do things such as back floating for seven seconds, climbing out of the pool independently, holding his breath for almost ten seconds, etc. The best part is that since we take the class on Friday mornings it is considered an "off peak" time so we get the class for half price.

This pretty much sums up our morning...

2011-12-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

Troy giving Reese lots of love that wasn't exactly welcomed...

Then running to a corner to laugh about it...

All the while wearing Reese's bib. I thought today's bib looked particularly funny on Troy.

Luckily she bounces back pretty fast, even if she does have breakfast all over her face.

And then it was business as usual.

Dirt Cups

2011-12-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

We had yet another potluck today at Troy's parent participation preschool and I decided to bring dirt cups for the kids. Here's how you do it:

Ingredients:

2 cups of cold skim milk
1 package (4 serving size) instant pudding (chocolate flavor)
3-1/2 cups (8 ounce container) whipped topping, thawed
1 package (16 ounces) chocolate sandwich cookies (briefly pulsed in the food processor)
Gummy worms or insects

Instructions:

Pour the milk into the mixing bowl and add the pudding mix. Beat with the wire whisk until well blended (about two minutes). Let pudding stand for five minutes. Stir whipped topping and 1/2 of the crushed cookies into the pudding (very gently) with rubber scraper until mixture is all the same color. Place about 1 tablespoon of the remaining crushed cookies into the bottom of each cup.
Fill cups about 3/4 full with pudding mixture. Top each cup with the rest of the crushed cookies. Add gummy worms and insects to decorate. Put cups into the refrigerator for about one hour to chill them.

BabySmart Cooshee Booster Seat

2011-12-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

I realized that it has been quite a while since I have done a product review so I thought I would write about our experience with the BabySmart Cooshee Booster seat. I bought this for Troy a while back on Amazon. Overall, I'd say we are pretty happy with it. It is very comfortable (I tried sitting in it too) and it fits well in our kitchen table seats. At first I was concerned because it stuck so well to the seat that it actually took off a little bit of the finishing on the chair. The finishing isn't coming off anymore, but the seat isn't sticking as well either. So, as long as Troy is sitting still in his seat (ha ha), it is fine.

Now that Troy is three, he doesn't really need a booster seat, but it does give him just a little bit of height at the table. Honestly, I think the biggest way the booster seat has helped me was when Reese started using Troy's old highchair. Troy was happy to no longer be strapped down during meals, but I think he still thought of the highchair as his and he wasn't too happy about seeing Reese use it. Fighting this battle at every meal, I decided to involve Troy in the process of getting a new booster seat. I let him pick the color and when it came in the mail, we made a big deal about opening it. Since the arrival of his "big boy" chair, the highchair has no longer been an issue. As far as I am concerned, the booster was worth it just for that.

Weekend Waffles

2011-12-17T14:47:00.000-08:00

This morning we busted out the waffle maker my sister got me for my birthday. I love making waffles because they are super easy, not much clean up is involved and everyone loves them. I also found a recipe in one of our Cooking for Baby cookbooks for homemade maple and banana syrup. It sounds weird, but it is really good.

Here is Troy eating his waffles and showing the hand print he made for me at preschool.

And here is Reese also eating waffles and, of course, bananas. It seems like every picture I have of Reese lately is her wearing her pajamas eating food...

Here is my breakfast. Yum! I love weekends and the best part is, tonight is date night! Woot!

Quick Update and Snickerdoodle Recipe

2011-12-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry for all the posts about food, but tis the season. It seems like every time I turn around there is some holiday potluck or party that I am baking for. I love cooking, but I could definitely live without all the dishes. Luckily David is very quick to step in and help out. We would both prefer to bring something homemade to a party rather than something store bought whenever possible.

Today is the holiday potluck at Troy's preschool and I am bringing snickerdoodles! The recipe is at the bottom of this post. As far as updates on the kids, they are loving everything Christmas right now.

This little monkey has eaten her weight in bananas the past few days. I can't keep them in the house very long before she eats them all! I keep hoping to make banana bread, but the bananas never have time to ripen enough around here!

For my mom's birthday, one of her friends baked a chocolate cake. She brought it over to share with the kids. The house was completely silent for about a half an hour- a big time record here!

As for Troy, he is growing into quite the little man. I can't believe how much he helps me around the house. His favorite thing right now is to help me "wash dishes." Water gets everywhere and we battle for access to the faucet most of the time, but it is really cute that he wants to help.

Okay, on with the snickerdoodles! Here is a picture of the batch I made today ready to go to Troy's potluck this afternoon!

Ingredients

1/2 cup softened butter (not melted)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Sugar and cinnamon for rolling (1 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon-mix)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300
Mix butter, and sugars together.
Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
In a separate bowl blend flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar.
Add to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Place batter in refrigerator for 30 mins- I know this seems tedious and can be tempting to skip, but it is really important.
Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl for rolling
Scoop dough by the Tablespoonfuls and shape into balls-roll in cinnamon and sugar
Place on un-greased cookie sheet and bake for 14-16 mins

Notes

Cookies will be slightly gooey-leave them on the baking sheet after they are finished in the oven…they will continue to bake. Then, place on cooling rack. I got this recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs. Email me if you want the link!

Black Bean Soup

2011-12-15T12:40:00.000-08:00

Here is one of my all time favorite dinner recipes: black bean soup. It is healthy, delicious and filling. I won't lie and say my kids eat it, but David and I do and I am hoping if I keep serving it that one day the kids will realize how good it is.

Ingredients:

2 cans seasoned black beans (drained not rinsed)

1 can chicken broth

1 1/2 cups water

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

brown rice (I used the frozen brown rice from Trader Joe's that you just cook in the microwave)

feta cheese

fresh cilantro for garnish

In a large soup pot, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add chili powder and cumin and stir. Add remaining ingredients and let simmer for 15 minutes. Take an immersion blender right into the pot so that some of the beans are blended and some remain in tact. If you don't have an immersion blender, simply pour half of the soup into a blender. Place a few spoonfuls of cooked rice in a bowl and pour in soup. Add feta and cilantro to your liking.

I like to make this soup with cornbread muffins and a salad. It doesn't make a ton of leftovers so I suggest you double it if you want to have this meal again tomorrow. Enjoy!

Troy's Favorite Part of Thanksgiving

2011-12-08T19:26:00.000-08:00

My sister shot this video footage of Troy sharing his favorite part of Thanksgiving. I don't think any of us would have guessed the answer he gave!

No, we did not fall off the face of the earth...

2011-12-03T20:44:00.001-08:00

November is just one of the craziest months for us. Between Troy's birthday, my mom's birthday, Thanksgiving and getting our decorations up for Christmas, we have had a lot going on.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at my parent's house. The kids always love going over there. As usual Reese ate like a ravenous rhino and Troy ate like a bird. I have so much to be thankful for this year and it was great to get the whole family together. A few days after Thanksgiving, we had a small family get together for Troy's 3rd birthday. The hot thing these days for Troy is pirates, pirates, pirates. David and I made some pirate cupcakes which were a big hit. Unfortunately, we are very short on pictures from Troy's big day as the power went out right in the middle of the party. I think the kids enjoyed playing with flashlights and everyone was such a great sport about it, however I was very disappointed that we couldn't get more pictures. Oh well. It will just become one of those funny family party memories. Here are a few of the pictures we did get:

Reese absolutely wanted to wear her tutu for the party. It was a bit un-pirateish, but she looked really cute. :)

Troy and Mimi.

Waiting for Thanksgiving dinner with a chess lesson with Papa.

I was going to include some pictures of our Christmas tree, however it doesn't look very impressive since the kids can't really handle ornaments this year. The tree itself is huge and smells wonderful, but other than some lights, it is pretty bare bones. Hopefully someday I will be able to put out my nice ornaments. :)

Halloween

2011-11-02T10:54:00.001-07:00

We participated in a lot of Halloween events this year which is great since the kids got lots of use out of their costumes. Troy was a pirate most of the time, but he wanted to be a fireman for the Boo at the Zoo event.
My pirate and ballerina getting ready to go Trick-or-Treating.

David as a hockey player with a fancy "blacked out" tooth.

Troy at preschool getting ready for the costume parade.

Reese didn't let her tutu get in the way of climbing the giant spider web at the zoo.

Some of Troy's buddies and his teacher Miss Erin from preschool.

Honestly, I think after Disneyland Troy was a little disappointed with Trick-or-Treating especially since he hasn't eaten any of his candy except one lollipop. (I will be slowly giving him pieces over the next several months). There were some impressive costumes and a lot of cool decorations, but Troy was still coming down from his Mickey Mouse high. :)

Cookie Monster

2011-10-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

I just had to post this picture because I think it is hilarious.

The Happiest Place on Earth Part 3

2011-10-28T11:49:00.001-07:00

The final installment in my Disneyland posts just in case you were wondering.

A Bug's Land in California Adventure was great. They have lots of rides that are perfect for Troy and Reese. October is a great time to go to Disneyland in terms of crowds. We walked on to many of the rides in both parks and all the rides in A Bug's Land. We got on the new Little Mermaid ride in about five minutes and the Finding Nemo submarine voyage in less than five minutes.

Troy wanted Aladdin all to himself and it was hard to get a picture of the three of them.

All in all, it was a great trip. I can't wait to do it again and I hope we can make it an annual thing. Thanks mom, dad, John and Lisa for all your help with the kids. It was a truly unforgettable week.

The Happiest Place on Earth Part 2

2011-10-28T11:08:00.001-07:00

We got in on Sunday night and kicked off our vacation with dinner at The Rainforest Cafe and dancing to live music in Downtown Disney.

Troy had no problem getting to the front of any crowd and busting a move.

Once in the park the next day, our first stop was Fantasyland to see the Peter Pan ride, Dumbo and the teacups. Troy also got to see his absolute favorite character- Captain Hook!

Toon Town- another kid favorite

Waiting for the parade.

I just had to document this picture of Troy actually eating a piece of fruit in Disneyland. :)

The parade is starting!

In the front row again. :)

The Happiest Place on Earth Part 1

2011-10-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

For some people it is all about Paris or Hawaii. For others it is Las Vegas or the Caribbean Islands. For me it always has been and always will be about Disneyland. I love Disneyland and this was our best trip yet! The kids were so well behaved I couldn't believe it. Troy went four days with no nap and Reese took naps in the stroller without much complaint. We even made it to the new World of Color show in California Adventure with two sleepy but very happy kids in tow.

I learned a lot this trip and there were definitely some challenging moments. Taking an almost three year old and one year old to Disneyland is a lot of work, but also super fun. It was really incredible to see everything through their eyes. Troy proved to be so brave and went on the Matterhorn four times! He loved the monster with the red eyes. I was worried that Reese might be scared by the rides, but she was quite the trooper. She did get a little scared by the characters, but she handled her fear quite well as long as she was in David's arms.

Speaking of the characters, we signed up for the character dinner for the first time and it was worth every penny. I would definitely recommend that you sign up for the character dinner as opposed to the breakfast or brunch because it is generally less crowded and you get a lot more value with more substantial dinner foods as opposed to just breakfast. Troy loved having the characters come over to our table. He also danced the twist with Chip and Dale for a very long time. The only downside was that he wouldn't eat a thing since he was too excited. Oh well, he more than made up for it later. Here are some pictures from our Goofy's Kitchen character dinner.

Suspicious

2011-10-21T15:56:00.001-07:00

Today as I was cleaning up after lunch, the house got suspiciously quiet- which usually means trouble. So, I went thundering down to Troy's room (where the kids were) to find this:

So cute! Troy was also pointing out pictures in the books to Reese. Of course as soon as I brought out the camera the kids threw down the books. Oh well.

On another note, I stumbled across a pumpkin bar with cream cheese frosting recipe yesterday that was awesome! Here it is:

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Beat eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Combine dry ingredients. Gradually add to pumpkin mixture. Mix well. Pour into an ungreased 10×15 pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Frosting

1- 3oz package cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 T milk
Beat first 4 ingredients. Then add enough milk to achieve desired consistency.

I had a little left over pumpkin from this recipe so I added it to my oatmeal this morning with a little brown sugar and cinnamon. It was really good. I love fall!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-20T15:52:00.000-07:00

The kids are actually napping at the same time today! Who hoo! So, I decided to take a second and post a picture of the pumpkin I carved. I know I won't be breaking any records for originality or perfection, but I had fun doing it. The LED candle I have inside seems to work pretty well and I don't have to worry about the kids and a flame. The ultimate test will be to see if Troy can identify that it is supposed to be a cat. :)

Also, if you haven't carved your pumpkins yet, I highly recommend roasting the seeds. All you need to do is separate the seeds from all the stringy pumpkin guts (for lack of a better word), rinse and dry them. Then, scatter them on a baking sheet covered in olive oil and salt (or other toppings you may like). Place in a 300 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes. Be sure to stir the seeds every ten minutes to prevent them from sticking or getting too dark on one side.

Disney on Ice

2011-10-20T11:26:00.001-07:00

In an effort to get Troy even more excited about our upcoming Disneyland trip, and to spend some quality time with him, we left Reese with my parents and went to see Disney on Ice last night. It was incredible! The costumes were really well done and the music was exceptional. David was very good and resisted buying any souvenirs despite some requests from Troy (and me!). We did, however indulge in some cotton candy which I haven't had in years. Troy is still a little confused on the concept of want versus need so throughout the show he would turn to me and shout, "I need more cotton candy" with a sense of urgency that would make you think he had a bleeding ulcer. I was very impressed that he sat on my lap very still almost the whole time. Captain Hook had a lot of stage time which left Troy staring with his mouth open for a lot of the show.

It has been great doing all this kid stuff again since having Troy and Reese. It is really neat to see the world through their eyes. I just can't wait until Troy gets on the Peter Pan ride at Disneyland. He is really going to freak out. Of course, I will too since I freak out over all things Disney. I have often said that one of my dream jobs would be to be a tour guide at Disneyland. Well, maybe some day...

Smoothie Night

2011-10-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

Last night was smoothie night. Personally with smoothies I can take them or leave them, but Troy and David love smoothies so I make them a lot. My best tips for smoothies are as follows:

1. When you have it, add a handful of spinach. No one can taste it and you are adding some nice leafy greens to your kid's (or husband's) diet. :)

2. Add cinnamon. It has a wonderful flavor in smoothies.

3. Use low fat Greek yogurt with a little vanilla extract as opposed to regular vanilla yogurt. Greek yogurt is thicker and has a better consistency, just make sure you use a little vanilla extract or honey or something sweet since it tends to be a little tart.

4. Freeze your bananas ahead of time. This is a perfect way to use up all those bananas that have become a little too ripe to eat by themselves. Just make sure you peel them and wrap it them in wax paper before placing them in the freezer. By using frozen bananas and other frozen fruit you eliminate the need for ice.

My Batty Bats

2011-10-15T22:28:00.000-07:00

Today we took the kids to Michael's to check out the Halloween stuff. I have always liked arts and crafts but haven't had much time to do any since Reese was born, however going to Michael's really got me inspired so I decided to make some spooky Halloween bats using miniature pumpkins. It was really easy and a big hit with Troy. Here is a link to the site with the craft which provides templates for the wings, ears and eyes as well as step by step instructions: http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/bat-o-lanterns-674621/

Hopefully we will be carving pumpkins soon and then I will post pictures of our finished product. I have never been very good at pumpkin carving though so it might end up looking a bit abstract. :)

I just love Halloween and it is so much fun to get the kids dressed up. I hope Troy will wear his costume long enough for me to snap a few photos.

That's one small step for Reese...

2011-10-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

...one giant leap for my life getting much crazier!

Actually, Reese took five steps. I couldn't believe it. Luckily David was working from home yesterday and he got to see it too. It won't be long now before I am chasing Troy and Reese who will most likely be going in two different directions!

Reese had a rough day yesterday as she had her one year doctor appointment. She became quite the pin cushion with five shots. I knew we were in for it when she broke out into a full on cry at having her head circumference measured. Oh well, at least it is over with now and she doesn't have to have any more shots for another six months.

Troy was not there during her appointment, but he was quick to notice all the ouchies on her legs. Troy has also been making sure to demonstrate lots of slow walking around Reese so she can see how it is done. He has become quite the big brother lately.

Chicken and Rice Soup

2011-10-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

I love eating and cooking soup in the colder months. One of my favorite recipes is for chicken and brown rice soup. I think it is probably healthier than chicken noodle soup and we find it very satisfying. The best part is that both Troy and Reese will eat it. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 rotisserie chicken from the grocery store
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 small yellow onions chopped
2 leeks finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
4 carrots chopped
dried thyme
3/4 cup long-grain brown rice, uncooked
10 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 bag frozen peas

Cut the meat off the rotisserie chicken into bite sized pieces and set aside.

Chop the veggies.

Put olive oil into a large soup pot, over medium heat, and add the chopped onion, leeks and garlic. Cook about 5 minutes. Then add the celery and carrots. Cook for another minute or two, then toss in the uncooked brown rice and stir until well combined. Add the broth and shredded chicken, then cover and simmer for 45-50 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.

When the rice is cooked, remove the soup from the heat, and stir in the frozen peas. Add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with dried thyme.

i-What?

2011-10-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

Reese has been talking up a storm lately. Some of her words include mama, dada, kitty, papa, mimi, ball, no, bird and most recently i-Pad. Yup, my twelve month old baby can say iPad. Reese has not actually spent any time playing with our iPad, but her brother definitely has. I think it is Troy's frequent requests for the iPad that have enabled Reese to add this word to her vocabulary. Especially since Troy's pleas get louder and more dramatic when his request is denied. Well, Reese definitely has her priorities. I haven't even heard her say milk yet!

Congratulations Kelly and Ben!

2011-10-10T10:45:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend my little sister Kelly got married! It was a beautiful ceremony and reception and the weather was absolutely perfect! The kids had a great time. I literally could not get Troy off the dance floor. David and I had our hands full so we weren't able to get any pictures, but hopefully between the wedding photographer and our family and friends we will be able to get a hold of a few pictures and post them here. Until then, here are some pictures of the kids trying on their outfits ahead of time.

Sorry it's a little blurry, but here is Troy trying on his rental tux. As you can see the original necktie they ordered was way too big, so we had to go back and get the correct size. After this picture was taken Troy also got a haircut so he looked really snazzy at the wedding. He is becoming such a little man!

Up close

2011-10-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

I know I have blogged before about going to the San Francisco zoo, but we went recently and got so close to the grizzly bears I just had to write about it. The neat thing about the zoo is that there is always something different going on and it doesn't get boring. You never know which animals will be out and about and what exhibits they will have going on. It is also getting more fun as the kids get older and can really get more out of the trips. Seriously though, the grizzly bears are so cool! If we hadn't been behind a glass wall we could have reached out and touched one. Watching them eat is really fascinating too. They get pretty aggressive!

Here is Troy doing his open-mouthed hippo impression.

A spider eating grapes.

This little one is almost walking! She has taken a few steps here and there but it won't be long now!

Troy thinks the bear statues are just as cool as the real things!

Banana Bread

2011-10-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

One thing my entire family loves, including my parents, is banana bread. I have made many different versions of this bread in the past few years, but I keep going back to this one which is our favorite. So while David supervised the kids in the bath the other day...

I whipped up a loaf of our favorite bread. Here is the recipe:

1/2 cup butter melted
3 very ripe bananas mashed
2 eggs
1/3 cup plain low fat Greek yogurt (you can also use sour cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350
Spray a loaf pan with non stick spray

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Beat butter, bananas, eggs and yogurt together. Add vanilla and beat again. Add dry ingredients and beat until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 45-60 minutes. The bread will be lightly brown. You can check if it is done by inserting a knife into the middle and see if it comes out clean. Set pan on a wire rack to cool before slicing. Enjoy!

Parent Participation Preschool

2011-10-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

Troy getting ready for school the other day

Last fall Troy began a parent participation preschool at Wilson Preschool. I really, really like parent participation preschool. For a portion of the time, the kids go outside and play while half of the parents watch over them. Meanwhile the other half have parent discussion group. We haven't had very many discussion sessions so far this year, but I have gotten some great tips and support from the group. Troy always has a little bit of apprehension being away from me on my discussion group days, but I think he is starting to get the hang of it. My mom is still in touch with many of the moms that she did parent participation preschool with for me, so I am hopeful I will have the same experience long term. I am also really enjoying some special time with Troy every week while my mom watches Reese. Preschool seems like a great way to get Troy exposed to different types of art projects, reading, sensory tables, safe outdoor time, etc. It can be a lot of work, but I am really happy to be taking such an active role in Troy's early education. I know it won't last much longer that Troy wants to have me around for all his play time and I am going to suck up every minute of it!

Happy First Birthday Reese!

2011-10-01T21:28:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that last week my little baby Reese turned one! Where does the time go? We kicked off Reese's birthday morning with a giant doll mansion. When I say giant, I am not exaggerating. This thing is really huge. I got it for a great deal on Amazon during one of their 48 hour sales. David worked really hard to assemble the whole thing the night before so that it would be all set up when the kiddos woke up. The kids will have to grow into this doll mansion a bit since Troy can't see the fourth floor without standing on a stool and Reese can't see the third or fourth floor at all. I just couldn't wait to get a doll house for Reese since I have such fond memories of playing with dolls when I was little.

We celebrated Reese's birthday with a small family gathering where we had a princess theme party complete with a homemade castle cake. I found a video about how to do one on YouTube, but it turned out to be a little bit harder than we thought. It was so worth it though to see Reese tear into her cake with her hands and end up covered with hot pink frosting. David and I made the frosting from scratch which ended up being much easier than we thought. We were appalled to find out that the frosting at the grocery store had 23 grams of trans fat. Yikes! We will definitely be making our own frosting from now on because it is way healthier, super easy and very cheap.

Reese's favorite gift was by far the baby doll she got from Aunt Mary and Uncle Ken. She knew exactly what to do when she got it. She picked it up and started patting her back and holding it close. She was so cute. My parents got her a stroller/walker which was perfect for her new baby doll.

Even Troy got into the festivities by sporting a tiara for about thirty seconds.

Happy birthday Reese! I love you so very much. Although I am very excited to share more birthdays with you and watch you grow, I hope you take your time and don't grow up too fast. My life is so much more enriched because of you and your brother.

Gilroy Gardens and Children's Discovery Museum

2011-09-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to go to Gilroy Gardens for a while now, but since it is kind of far away from us, I haven't had a good chance to go. However, David took a few days off after he got back from Norway we decided to check it out. One of my dearest friends Jenn and her adorable son Andrew came to meet us there. It was so much fun! Unfortunately with the driving time and the limitations with the kid's nap schedules I feel like we barely scratched the surface, but I think everyone had a great time. Reese even went on a few rides by herself! Thanks Jenn for the fun day!
David, Jenn and the boys in the hot air balloon ride.

Reese on her first ride by herself! She was smiling by the end, but she had white knuckles for about the first half of the ride.

Reese and Andrew waiting for the train.

Another place that we have been taking the kids to a lot lately is the Children's Discovery Museum. It is a lot of fun too and it is nice to have an indoor option for the kids when it is either way too hot or rainy outside. Since we have been getting memberships to a lot of these places, we are going there much more frequently. This is helping us get a better value out of our money, but it gets more important for us to pack our own food when we go as opposed to buying it there. It takes a little bit more effort to pack our own lunches and I usually have to be prepared for Troy asking for french fries over and over, but I can usually bring more healthy foods from home and save more money too.

6 Years and Counting...

2011-09-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

Today is our 6 year wedding anniversary. To me, six years actually sounds a little insignificant since we have been together since I was fifteen years old. David and I met in high school not too long before I got my driver's license. One tradition that David and I have been doing on our anniversary is writing prediction letters. Essentially we write a letter to ourselves to be opened on a specific anniversary in the future. We usually do one for the next year and one for many years down the road- for example our twenty year anniversary. In the letter we briefly talk about things we are doing currently and then we make predictions about where we will be when we are reading the letter in the future. Some of the predictions are serious such as where we will be living or how many children we will have, while others are kind of silly like whether David will have a beard or not. It was really fun to read the one we wrote during our honeymoon to be opened on our five year anniversary. We have really changed a lot as individuals and as a couple since we first got married and I feel very lucky that we have grown together.

We celebrated our anniversary by having date night last night while my parents watched the kids. We went to see The Help which I thought was spectacular. I really liked the book so I was worried that the movie would pale in comparison, but I thought it was great. David enjoyed it too despite the fact that there were no guns or car chases. :)

Today we took the kids to a water park called Aqua Adventure in Fremont. It was so much fun! We were a little more prepared this time since we brought a floaty ring for Reese with a sun shade. We also brought some water toys for Troy which were a hit. Since this was the last weekend the water park will be open for the season, we found a coupon to get in for a pretty good discount. Now the kids are passed out and will hopefully take nice long naps so we can all go out to dinner tonight.

Firefighter Troy

2011-09-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

One totally fun and free activity that I have recently done with Troy is take a tour of the local fire station. The fire fighters in our city are extremely friendly and gave us a great tour of their facility. Troy got to "drive" one of the trucks and turn the lights on. We also saw the pole and the sleeping quarters. Troy left with an honorary badge and a bunch of stickers and trading cards. I was able to get some tips about fire safety around the house too. I called ahead of time to see if we could swing by, but I don't think that is required. If you have little ones (or not so little ones!) that are interested in fire trucks, or firefighters, I highly recommend you stop by a station for a tour. It was really fun!

All By Myself...

2011-09-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

Don't wanna be, all by myself, anymore.

And thankfully I am not! My husband was in Norway for business for a week and I was here with the kids. I definitely had my hands full, but I am happy to know that I can do it if I need to. I had to get really creative with how to keep them entertained and get everyone what they need, but we got through it. The best part was seeing how excited the kids were when David walked through the door. We made a welcome home sign for him and decorated it with rubber stamps and stickers. Troy was jumping around in circles and kept giving David hugs. I can really appreciate the saying, you don't know what you have until it is gone. Thank you David for always being there for us!

Tummy Tub

2011-09-07T10:01:00.001-07:00

One really cool baby product that I wish I had known about when Troy was born is the Tummy Tub. This thing is so cool. When I watched the videos on their web site, I was really intrigued. The babies didn't look particularly comfortable in the tubs since they were all squished up, however it makes sense that this is what they were like in the womb. All you have to do is fill up the water to the indicated level and then plop your baby in. You might have to support their head when they are first born, but it makes it really easy to clean all those neck folds! Reese loved her Tummy Tub and I loved that it was much easier on my back. She would sit in there for a very long time just looking around. Since she is too big for her Tummy Tub now, we are using a bath ring that suctions to the bottom of the tub which is working pretty well. The benefit of that is that I can give the kids both a bath at the same time. The kids have also been enjoying these fizzy bath tablets that change the color of the water. Troy especially likes seeing how yellow and blue tablets combined make green.

I picked up a used Tummy Tub for a song on Craig's List. You can see some pretty entertaining videos of babies using these tubs here.

Getting Messy

2011-08-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

Reese is a very good eater. She will try anything I offer her and there are very few things that she doesn't like. She has recently started feeding herself puffs which makes my life a little easier. However, recently she has started getting fussy at the table. She kept tossing the spoon on the floor which made for a lot of extra dishes. Finally I just gave her a whole cup of yogurt and let her do it herself. Problem solved! It got really, really messy, but she loved being in control. She used the spoon a little while and then eventually switched to shoving fistfuls of yogurt into her mouth. Even though clean up is a little more involving after every meal, Reese is much happier doing it herself. If you haven't yet, I encourage you to let your kids go all out with their food. It is very fun to watch.

Troy has also started eating Nutella on whole wheat toast in the morning which makes for some very funny pictures.

When the kids aren't eating and getting really messy, they have started playing together lately- which is awesome. Reese is very happy with whatever reject toys Troy tosses her way. She usually pulls to a standing as close to Troy as she can get and watches him. He is a pretty good sport about it and I think he likes having an audience.

Picture People

2011-08-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

I am very sad to report that the photography studio Picture People at Westfield Valley Fair Mall (the mall closest to us) is going out of business. I was totally shocked because every time we go there it is really busy. There are still other Picture People locations, but they are farther away from us. What I like about Picture People is that their prices are very reasonable, they are super kid friendly and, most importantly, the pictures come out great! Here are a few pictures from our last session. Unfortunately, my favorite photo from the shoot- which is Troy giving Reese a big kiss on the cheek, didn't show up on the CD once I got home. I was planning to just scan the one we bought, but the picture we purchased was too big for our scanner! Ugh! Well, if you come over to my house you can see the picture hanging up in our family room. Otherwise here are a few others from that day:

Say cheese!

2011-08-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

I love cheese, however I try to limit the amount of cheese I use in my cooking from a health perspective. When David and I started to really evaluate our budget, we realized that we would save some money if we started grating our own cheese as opposed to buying it pre-shredded. This is true for many other things you get at the grocery store too. If you buy items that have already been cut, washed, peeled, pre cooked, etc., you usually pay more and have less control over what goes into them (i.e. preservatives). So, I bought a couple blocks of cheese and this cheese grater and got started doing it myself. What began as a method of saving money turned into a new passion for shredding my own cheese. The flavor is so much creamier. I gave David and Troy a little of the freshly shredded cheese to taste and they both loved it. I later discovered that pre-shredded cheese often contains an ingredient called cellulose which is basically saw dust (wood pulp). Yuck! Apparently this keeps the cheese from sticking together. Needless to say, I no longer buy pre-shredded cheese. We are saving money and enjoying cheese so much more. I have also noticed that I can get away with using less in my cooking since the flavor is so much stronger.

Pretty please?

2011-08-20T15:39:00.000-07:00

Could you say no to that face? As a parent, I often find myself struggling with what I know is right for my kids and what they want. It is so tempting to give them that cookie or let them watch an episode of their favorite show when they are throwing the biggest tantrum. Sometimes I think our society values kids that are quiet and overly submissive rather than curious and high energy. I have certainly given Troy cookies before and he has watched television, however I am trying to not let my own issues (feeling tired, busy, etc.) get in the way of doing what is right for him. When Troy gets older, I hope people say, "Wow! He is such a curious, enthusiastic boy!" Rather than, "Wow! Troy is so well behaved it was like I didn't know he was there!" I know this will get more challenging as the kids get older and the requests go beyond tv and cookies. I just hope that even in my moments of weakness I can always keep their best interests at heart.

Our (not so new) ride

2011-08-19T11:02:00.001-07:00

When I was first pregnant with Troy, I swore that I would never get a mini van. I felt like there was a lot of stereotypes associated with mini vans and I never thought I would own one. Well, since just about everything I thought about kids changed after I had them, I can now say that I am the very proud owner of a Toyota Sienna mini van. This car has seriously changed my life. It is so easy to load up the kids and the automatic doors are a huge help when my hands are full. Another huge plus is that the kids cannot reach each other in the back seat so I don't have to worry about anyone getting injured (whether the injury is intentional or not). Many mini vans get good gas mileage and are relatively easy to drive and park too. We went with the leather interior which is great for wiping the seats clean. My husband made it a project to find the lowest price on a lightly used one. This is where the Internet is a huge help. He searched tons of sites and found a very good starting price and then we negotiated a little.

I picked up a couple car seat covers which have been super easy to take off and wash. It was a bit of a project finding them since the Britax Boulevard car seat has a large head piece which requires a custom fit. However, I am really happy with the way they came out and Troy and Reese seem to enjoy looking at Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbell.

I guess as I get older, I care a little bit less about the stigmas and stereotypes of things and focus more on practicality, safety and durability. If you are in the market for a new car and have little ones, I encourage you to consider a mini van. I may not look like a super cool chick on the freeway, but this car fits my needs (and all our stuff!) really well. I think I will be driving this car for quite a while. :)

Broccoli Soup

2011-08-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

Here is a recipe that our whole family loves. It is easy to make, very healthy and filling. Reese especially loves this soup. It comes from this cookbook which I got for my birthday.

Ingredients:

6 cups chopped broccoli

7 cups cold water

salt

2 medium potatoes peeled and cut into big chunks

1 red onion peeled and quartered

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream (I used 1/2 cup and it still tasted great)

Pepper

Combine broccoli, potatoes and onion in a large pot. Add cold water and season with salt. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat slightly and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes or until veggies are tender. Puree in a blender until smooth. Soup should be thick. Swirl in half the cream and heat through. Add another swirl of cream on top of each portion of soup. Troy likes his with a smiley face. Sometimes David and I will add Parmesan cheese too. Yum!

Potty Training

2011-08-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

Potty is a word used quite frequently in our house. We have had quite a different experience with the potty and both of our kids. Reese has been using the potty since she was about 6 months old. She is obviously not potty trained completely and still goes in her diaper occasionally, but she mostly goes in the potty. Troy on the other hand has only recently started using the potty and has only been "potty trained" in the last week or so. I did not want to use food or candy as a bribe for potty training which has worked out so far. The whole "output" issue has been such a big thing for me since having kids. Between Troy's diaper rash, switching to cloth diapers, then switching to cloth wipes, then Reese preferring to use the potty at such a young age, it seems like we are doing something new and different every month! I know there are lots of ways to do this and it is all about finding what works for you and your kids. One trick I found was personalizing my kid's potties. Troy loved when I put his name on his potty and he took on a whole new sense of ownership of it. I also checked out some books from the library which provided some interesting approaches that didn't involve candy or stickers.

Essential Oils and cloth diapers

2011-08-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

I received two email questions within the last week on my You Tube videos regarding the use of essential oils and cloth diapering so I thought I would put my response on here as well. Lots of people use essential oils, particularly tea tree oil, with their cloth diapers. Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic and has a very appealing scent. I know many people have added a few drops of tea tree oil to water for their cloth wipes while other use the oil as an odor fighter in their diaper pails. I have tried using tea tree oil once or twice, but since Troy's skin is so sensitive, I have avoided using anything that isn't completely necessary with my diapers. In addition, even if you use essential oils with your diapers and love it, I would caution you to not use it all the time. The oils can cause build up on your diapers which will make it hard to get them really clean. Too much oil with the wipes can cause them to repel water.

There is a lot of information on the Internet about this subject if you type "essential oils and cloth diapering" into a search engine. If you don't want to use essential oils, and find that your diapers continue to have a funny smell to them, I would suggest either stripping your diapers or hanging them out to dry as often as possible. The sun really does wonders as a natural bleaching agent and deodorizer.

Music Class

2011-08-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

Ever since Troy has been about 6 months old, we have been taking a parent participation music class called Music Together. If you have a program like this near you, I highly encourage you to check it out. The sun rises and sets at our house with this class. This term we have started taking it twice a week! Reese is starting to get into it too. I think exposing your kids to lots of different types of music at a young age is a great thing. Almost like learning another language. What I think makes the Music Together program especially great is the fact that the songs are age appropriate and very diverse. The class is fast paced and very active which is perfect for Troy. Every week the instructor will bring different instruments so the kids can practice using triangles or tambourines or maracas. I am usually at music class with both kids by myself which makes picture taking almost impossible, however David came with me this week and between the two of us we were able to snap a few photos.

Sandbox

2011-08-11T11:01:00.001-07:00

I have previously mentioned how much fun we have gotten out of the used sandbox we purchased earlier this summer. When we got ready to get some sand for the box, I thought we could pick up sand from a home supply store and be done with it. However, upon further research, sand can have a lot of carcinogens and other undesirable things in it. I mean, it is one thing to use sand in your landscaping and quite another to have your small children playing and rolling around in it for hours. We found a teacher's supply store near us that has purified sand considered more safe for kids. I was a little hesitant at first since it was a lot more expensive, however now that I have seen and felt purified sand, I am kind of grossed out by the sand at the park. The sand in our box is pure white and reminds me of sugar. If you are considering a sandbox for your kids, I encourage you to look into better sand options. I was planning to order it online, but the weight made shipping fairly expensive. Luckily, I was able to find a printable coupon for the teacher's supply store and saved about 20%.

Frozen Banana Bites

2011-08-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

In my quest to save money, I have really been kicking up my cooking game. What began as a quest to save more by not eating out has uncovered a very strong passion for cooking that I never knew I had! Some of my recent endeavors include broccoli soup, strawberry spinach salad, quinoa stuffed red bell peppers, black bean soup, spinach calzones and chicken enchiladas. I will definitely share some of those recipes later as they have been a huge hit with my family. However, the recipe I am going to share today is frozen banana bites- not really one of my most kid friendly recipes, but fabulous for sweet tooth adults. I found it on a blog called (never home)maker. She has some really great healthy recipes that we really like. Here is the recipe:

FROZEN BANANA BITES What you'll need . . .

2 large bananas
1/4 to 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips (I used non vegan dark chocolate chips)
1/4 to 1/3 cup natural peanut butter (I used Skippy natural creamy peanut butter)
Unsweetened coconut flakes

Method . . .

Set out a large plate or bowl with a piece of parchment or wax paper on it.
Cut up the bananas into good-sized chunks. Each banana should give you around 5 to 6 pieces.
Heat the peanut butter and chocolate chips in the microwave on high for about a minute. Then stir until smooth.
Dip the banana pieces in the chocolate-peanut butter mixture. Lay them out leaving some space between them on the parchment/wax paper. Then when you've "covered" them all, use the remaining mixture to spoon over the tops (for even more chocolate-y goodness).
Then sprinkle the unsweetened coconut flakes on top. Transfer to the freezer for about an hour until hardened.
You can enjoy them like this (but they really aren't frozen yet -- and when they're frozen, the banana tastes like vanilla ice cream) . . . I suggest then covering with some plastic wrap (or really you can do all of this in some kind of Rubbermaid container) and let freeze overnight.

Source: http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2010/06/frozen-banana-bites.html

Delicious and satisfying! My hubby is a big banana fan so he really likes these and it is much better than eating banana cupcakes or chocolate chip cookies. I make a couple batches at once and then keep them in the freezer so we always have some on hand. This helps combat our temptation to go out for frozen yogurt when these are a fraction of the cost, homemade and most of all flipping fabulous! Enjoy!

Troy and Reese at the zoo, oh my!

2011-08-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

The zoo! Some people love it...

Others don't...

But they eventually come around. :)

Yesterday we took the kids to the San Francisco zoo. This is only our second time going this summer, however we decided to buy a membership as we figured it will pay for itself with about two visits. Hopefully we will be going a lot more than that over the next year. I think memberships in general are probably the way to go if it is somewhere you intend to visit more than a few times, however it is hard to know exactly how much you will go. We are also considering a membership to Happy Hollow and the Children's Discovery Museum, however I don't want to bite off more than we can chew. Saving money is one of my passions so if it makes sense to become a member, I am all for it.

On the topic of saving money, David and I have created a new stricter budget which we have been doing our best to stick with. I'll admit, the fun of strongly enforcing one has kind of worn off, but I know this is really important to our financial fitness. We are hoping to put some of the money we save into the kid's college funds and our retirement fund. Here are a few tricks I have started implementing in our quest to save more money:

1. Do fewer loads of cloth diapers. Instead of doing the diapers every day, I have figured out that we have enough diapers to only wash them every other day or every two days. This uses less water and energy. Also during the summer I love hanging out the diapers to dry in the sun so we don't have to run the dryer.

2. Use less in general. If you really think about how much of the common household products you use regularly and then try to cut back just a little, it can make a huge impact. We are not using nearly as many paper towels, ziplock bags, garbage bags, dish soap and batteries as we were before. I'm not talking tons of money saved here, but every little bit helps.

3. Shop bargains. We do most of our grocery shopping at Safeway and I just discovered that if you register your Safeway club card online (www.safeway.com) you can select items that you purchase regularly to have coupons applied to your purchase every time you buy them. The catch here is that you have to log on quite frequently and keep adding products as the coupons expire about every week, but I just set up a recurring reminder on my phone and try to do it quickly before I go shopping.

4. Negotiate rates. I recently called Comcast and was able to get our cable bill down significantly. I was prepared to get rid of our cable completely, but since the guy was so willing to negotiate with me, we found a great package that we can afford. I intend to try this strategy with some of our other recurring expenses too.

5. Cut back on Peet's Coffee. This is the hardest one for me since Peet's is like my sanctuary, but I know this can really impact our bottom line.

Those are just a few things I have started implementing. I will try and post more ideas as I have success. I also use some great resources online such as www.retailmenot.com (online coupon code site) and moneysavingmom.com (financial advice and coupons).

Monterey Bay Aquarium

2011-08-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

Today we took the kiddos to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was so much fun. My favorite part was the octopus. I was really interested to learn that they have very unique personalities and that they can be shy, outgoing, etc. Troy loved everything but I think his favorite was the Open Sea Exhibit they have on display now. In that huge floor to ceiling tank, we saw sea turtles and a really cool big fish called a Sun Fish. Reese also had fun with the touch ponds and baby play area. I love everything about the aquarium, except the near two hour drive. Driving out there wasn't bad, but on the way home the kids were tired and not happy to be in the car again. At the end of the day, it was lots of fun and I appreciated my husband taking the day off and that his family came along to help us with the kids and all our gear.

Summer Fun

2011-08-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

I love summer! The long days, warm weather and being outside! We have been taking lots of trips to the San Francisco Zoo, Happy Hollow, The Children's Discovery Museum and of course the beach! It has been really fun to see the world through the eyes of my two little ones. That said, we have also spent a lot of days just hanging around the house. I have been challenged with finding ways to keep my kids entertained at home without spending a lot of money and not watching tv. Here are some of the ideas we have come up with:

1. Make Popsicles! I use AllRecipes.com to find some excellent and healthy homemade Popsicle recipes. Troy loves it when we combine fresh fruit with yogurt or applesauce. We can have fun blending everything together in the blender and then even more fun eating them once they have solidified. The best part is that it takes Troy about a good 45 minutes to finish a Popsicle so we have built in eating entertainment that is pretty healthy.

2. Outdoor sandbox. We recently acquired a small sandbox for our backyard. We put a bunch of toy dump trucks and plastic animals in it and both the kids have a blast playing out there. I have to watch pretty closely to ensure Reese doesn't get sand in her eyes, but other than that, it is pretty fun.

3. Playing in the sprinklers. Troy is at an age where he love to "help me" do things. Although how much helping he is doing is debatable, I really like to encourage his desire to be involved around the house. We have spent many hot afternoons watering the plants and grass while simultaneously playing with the water. Even Reese gets in on the fun by getting her feet wet.

4. Art Projects. Play Doh, sidewalk chalk, finger paint, water colors, crayons, the list goes on and on. Troy isn't a huge art fan, but he likes doing it for a little while. On the days we do arts and crafts, I usually set up lot of stations so he can try new things at his fast pace.

5. Long baths. This may sound a little strange, but my kids love taking baths. When it is too hot to go outside, sometimes we fill up the bath tub and the kids have a great time taking a long afternoon bath. We have bath crayons, bath flutes, blocks, etc. I just put on some music and let the kids enjoy a long soak.

There are lots of things to do at home when going out isn't an option. I have had to get really creative with activities for Troy during Reese's morning nap since we can't leave the house. I hope you are all enjoying a fun and relaxing summer!

New Diapers!

2011-07-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

Here I said I was going to blog more and it has been about a month since my last post! There is a lot going on and I apologize for the long lapse of time. I am very excited to write about a new type of cloth diaper that we have just started carrying at Blue Moon Goods. They are called Yoyoo bamboo cloth diapers and they are really fabulous. They are a great cost savings compared to FuzziBunz and they are just as functional. They come in a bunch of fun colors and are bamboo which is a nice plus. The best part is that the insert snaps to the outer shell so assembling your diapers when they come out of the wash is super easy. Here is my video review of the Yoyoo diapers with Reese: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXbXqpD3El0

You purchase the diapers from our website here: http://www.bluemoongoods.com/yoyoo_one_size_organic_bamboo_cloth_diaper.htm

I hope you are having a great day!

Drum roll please....

2011-06-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

After what has turned out to be a much longer delay than I anticipated, I would like to introduce the newest member of the Blue Moon Goods family, Reese Breanne! Reese was born on September 29th weighing 8 lbs. 11.7 oz. I sincerely apologize for not posting anything sooner, but I have been very busy adjusting to life with two little ones. :)

Reese is now a sweet and easy going eight month old. She absolutely adores her big brother Troy and Troy mostly enjoys having a sister as long as she doesn't take his toys or monopolize my attention. I am very happy to report that I was able to give birth without any pain medication with the support of my husband and my fabulous doula, Param.

Going from one to two kids is a lot harder than I thought it would be, but it is also much more rewarding and fulfilling. Watching Troy give Reese a nice hug or feed her a spoonful of sweet potatoes fills me with so much happiness. Right before Reese was born, I wondered if I could ever love another baby as much as I love Troy. The answer is a resounding yes! I embrace the similarities and differences, joys and challenges and strengths and weaknesses of both my kids. I only hope I can be the mom they deserve.

I am planning to update this blog slightly more regularly now, however I find that I am much more strapped for time than I used to be. Until next time, here are a few pictures of the kiddos.

A picture of Troy taken a few months ago when he was getting ready for swim class with dad.

Reese in her all time favorite thing- the Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo.

The Waiting Game

2010-09-26T14:12:00.001-07:00

Hi there, I hope everyone is doing well. The Blue Moon Goods family is anxiously awaiting the arrival of our newest member. My official due date is tomorrow (September 27th) though I truly thought I would have had the baby by now. Many times you hear about second babies coming early and with how much I am on my feet I thought there was no way I would make it to my due date. Yet, here I am hugely pregnant and with no indication that labor is going to start any time soon. I am hoping this birth experience will be very different from my last as I have hired a doula. If you haven't heard of a doula before, they are basically a certified and trained birth companion to help you and your husband or other birth partner obtain the best birth experience possible. They are usually experienced with various birth positions, massage, accupressure, breastfeeding, etc. In my case, our doula also offers postpartum support which is something both my husband and I are really looking forward to. If you are interested in getting more information on doulas, you can do an Internet search and come up with a lot of resources.

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that I am going to be taking a little break from blogging once the baby comes. Between caring for my almost two year old, and the new baby and tending to my usual household and business duties, I am going to have my hands full. You can still contact me via email at Ki@BlueMoonGoods.com if you have questions about our company, products or previous blog posts, it just may take me a little bit longer than usual to get back to you. Alternatively you can email Info@BlueMoonGoods.com and one of my team members will be able to answer questions or address any concerns.

I really appreciate your interest in my blog and I hope to return to blogging on a more consistent basis as soon as I get back on my feet. Have a happy day!

The Home Stretch

2010-08-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post quickly and apologize that I haven't been very active on the blog lately. I am in the "home stretch" of my pregnancy and things have been a little hectic. I don't know if any of you fellow parents out there had trouble selecting a name, but we have been around and around this "name game" many times. I have been obsessed with names for pretty much my whole life. I feel like your name says so much about you and can potentially have a big positive or negative impact on your life. I used to give all my dolls and toy ponies first and middle names so naming my kids has always been a much anticipated event for me. This is further complicated by the fact that I am limited to finding a name that goes with our outrageously long last name and something that my husband equally likes. All I can say is hopefully we will be able to hammer down a choice before she is born!

In other news, I am continually fascinated by how quickly toddlers grow and change and become aware of the world around them. Troy is talking up a storm and finding himself in some new social situations with other kids his age. Topics like sharing and being gentle come up a lot these days. We took Troy to Music in the Park at downtown Los Gatos on Sunday and he had the time of his life. I am a little concerned that Troy knows just how cute he is and is using that to get what he wants. He had a circle of several women dancing around him (none of whom I knew) and he was just loving the attention. Troy will be starting a parent participation preschool in September so hopefully I will have some opportunities to blog about that experience. In the mean time, I will try to get some more posts up before the new baby arrives.

Brushing Teeth

2010-08-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

Getting toddlers to do things can be challenging. I have a hard time getting Troy to keep his diaper on or sit still long enough to put sunscreen on before we go outside. One thing I was particularly struggling with was getting Troy to brush his teeth or at least let me brush them. I went to the dentist myself a few weeks ago and the dental assistant emphasized the importance of brushing his teeth thoroughly and regularly. My feelings of guilt quickly turned to shock when she suggested I try flossing his teeth as well. My response to this was, "do you have children?!?"

Although I am far from brushing Troy's teeth for five whole minutes every night and even farther from flossing them, here are a few techniques I have been using which have helped me get Troy's teeth sufficiently brushed every night:

1. The Baby/Toddler Banana Bendable Training Toothbrush. This toothbrush is amazing. It is really soft and flexible. It is shaped like a banana which is kind of fun and it is made of silicone which I like much more than plastic. Plus it is dishwasher safe. It is also freezer safe though I have never tried freezing it. I would imagine this would be helpful for teething babies. Here is a link to this brush on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Banana-Bendable-Training-Toothbrush/dp/B0010LR812

2. Tom's of Maine Children's Fluoride Free Toothpaste, Silly Strawberry. Although I am not a big fan of using toothpaste for toddlers, I found that Troy loves the taste of this and since it doesn't contain fluoride, I am not super concerned when he swallows it. Plus this toothpaste doesn't contain fake sugars or colors like many other toothpastes do. In fact, my husband and I use Tom's toothpaste for adults because we didn't want the artificial sugars and colors either. It took a little while for us to get used to the taste, but now we think that traditional toothpastes taste strange and too sweet. Here is a link to the toothpaste on Diapers.com: http://www.diapers.com/product/productdetail.aspx?productid=43627

3. Singing. I came up with a toothbrush song that I only sing when Troy is brushing his teeth. He loves music and singing in general so I think he associates that song with brushing his teeth and it usually ensures that he will brush his teeth for at least as long as the song lasts.

4. Watching my husband and I brush our teeth. Troy wants to do what we are doing so naturally having him watch us brush our teeth makes sense. He also gets a huge kick out of watching us spit in the sink.

Hopefully you can find some tricks that work with your kids. Brushing your teeth is just something that I am not willing to negotiate with Troy. We may occasionally go out without brushing Troy's hair or clipping his nails if he really throws a fit, but I would feel so guilty if Troy got a cavity in his baby teeth because he resisted brushing and I caved in.

Aloha!

2010-07-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Well, we just survived our first family vacation with Troy to Hawaii. It was unlike any other Hawaiian vacation I have ever had since we were chasing after a nineteen month old toddler and I was 29 weeks pregnant, however it was a lot of fun and certainly something we will never forget.

There were many things we did on this trip which worked really well and many things that did not. The first thing I would suggest to anyone travelling with a toddler who is forty pounds and under is to get an Ergo backpack carrier. This thing was a life saver. We used it a lot when we needed to get places quickly or when Troy was too tired to walk. He was able to fall asleep in there a lot and it didn't add a lot of bulk to our already obscene amount of luggage. Troy used to love to be in the Baby Bjorn front carrier, but he quickly outgrew it and when he was the right size, we couldn't carry him for very long because of the pressure on our shoulders. The Ergo distributes the weight (in Troy's case about 28 pounds) across your hips so it is very comfortable to wear your baby for long periods of time. The Ergo carrier can also be used as a front and hip carrier, though I think Troy is too big for those positions. I will definitely be purchasing the newborn insert so that I can use it with the new baby once she is born.

The next thing is that whenever possible, I will always try to get Troy his own seat on the airplane. We lucked out both times and had a vacant seat in between my mom and myself so that Troy could stretch out and take naps. I don't know how we would have done it if there was someone sitting between us. I know he will have to have his own seat once he turns two anyway, but if I was going to do this trip over again, I would have taken more action to ensure he had his own seat for both flights.

Another life saver for us on the plane was our portable DVD player. We brought a few Elmo DVDs and some kid movies that we checked out from the library. Troy doesn't watch much TV on a daily basis but we cut back even more on the TV right before we left so it would feel like a special treat on the plane. I don't particularly like seeing Troy all zoned out in front of the screen with a handful of cheerios in his hand, but after harassing my family as well as the people in front and back of us for several hours I figured everyone could use a break.

We brought our Bob stroller and its carrying case and barely ended up using it. Troy was much happier in the Ergo carrier which was much easier for us to carry and maneuver. Unless your child really likes their stroller or you don't think they would do well in a front or back carrier, I would leave the stroller at home.

I am happy to report that after drenching ourselves in Badger sunblock the entire trip, none of us got sunburned at all. Troy was not a big fan of wearing sunblock or his hat for that matter, but I found if I gave him a big positive reaction for doing those things, he slowly came around more by the end of the trip.

I will include some more details about the trip in subsequent posts, but I wanted to start with the biggest lessons we learned. It was hard to leave Hawaii when the vacation was over, but I was also glad to come home. I would like to thank my husband and my parents for all their help with Troy on this trip. Now all I can say is that my hat is off to anyone who has traveled even greater distances with their little ones. Five hours was more than enough time on an airplane for me and Mr. Troy. :)

19 months old already?!?

2010-07-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

I have heard from many people that kids grow up fast no matter how much you try to savor every moment. All I can say is this is so true. Troy is already 19 months old and changing every day. The picture above is from several weeks ago and I feel like he has changed even since this picture was taken! I am so glad that I started a baby book for Troy because I am already enjoying going back and reading about the things that were going on when he was first born up until now. It is interesting to read about the other names we were considering for him because I cannot see him as anything other than Troy now. I can also read about how worried I was that he would never transition to cow's milk or that he wouldn't sleep through the night until he turned ten years old. It helps me gain perspective now about the things that have me worried.

I cannot tell you how much I recommend enrolling your toddlers in some age appropriate classes. This is especially true for kids like Troy who do not go to day care. I think it is really important for him to spend time socializing with other kids and being exposed to some structure. He is also learning about how to communicate and express himself. So far this summer Troy has been taking a music class, a soccer class, an art class and the Little Gym tumbling class. He is also going to start a parent participation preschool in September and we will be doing some swimming sessions soon too. Some people may think this sounds like overkill, but Troy and I are both much happier when we have a lot of planned activities.

One thing that has been on my mind is when to give Troy his first official haircut. Most other parents with kids Troy's age have already cut their kid's hair a long time ago, but I just can't do it. It is so fine and blond and starting to curl slightly at the ends. Plus, I figure once he gets older he will decide how he wants to wear his hair so I might as well keep it the way I like it for now. I guess in the mean time I just need to be prepared for the occasional person who thinks he is a girl.

Here is a recent picture of Troy and me at The Little Gym. Although Troy loves going there, it is getting a bit challenging for me to lift him to do all the skills and stunts with my growing prego belly. Everyone keeps saying to lift with my legs and not my back, but there really isn't a great way to lift a 30 pound kid while late in your seventh month of pregnancy!

Trying things for yourself

2010-06-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Troy will resist something I am trying to get him to eat or play with or sit on, etc. and I can't figure out why. Instead of getting frustrated with Troy and pushing the issue, I have found that the most effective way for me to figure out where he is coming from is to try whatever it is for myself. For example, I bought some of these portable blended whole fruit snacks which come in a pouch for Troy. I really liked that he would get vegetables and fruits on the go and the packaging was minimal and not messy at all. The nutritional value was excellent and low in sugar and the product received great reviews from other parents. The only problem is that Troy never seemed to eat more than a few bites. After many attempts to get him to finish one, I ate one myself. Though it tasted really good, it was pretty filling even for me. No wonder he never ate the whole thing at once, especially when he had been eating other things first!

I had a similar experience with a training cup that I wanted Troy to use. The product had great reviews and was quite expensive, but he didn't like it. When I finally tried it myself, it was really hard to get liquid out of it. Though I felt kind of silly using Troy's cup, I was able to appreciate where he was coming from and I found a straw cup which we both liked much better.

In essence, I am really learning to practice what I preach. Short of trying on Troy's diapers, I am making an attempt to try things myself before giving them to Troy. I have used all of Troy's straw cups once, I have sampled his California Baby shampoo and body wash myself, I use his laundry detergent on my own clothes too and I even tried spending one night with no pillows or blankets in my bed (this is how Troy sleeps every night) to make sure the temperature was comfortable for him and ensure his pajamas weren't too warm or cool. I know that might sound a little extreme, but my advice is if you can't figure out why your tot is resisting something, if it is feasible, try it for yourself first!

Getting through long car rides

2010-06-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

As Troy continues to get older, car rides continue to become more difficult. He is no longer entertained by the same toy for the whole trip. It is a little easier when someone is sitting in the back seat with him, however even then he often gets feisty and fussy.

Even though I still have my fair share of exhausting and frustrating road trips, I have found the following things have really helped me survive those long rides:

1. Have a mix of familiar music and new tunes. I always bring a couple CDs that Troy really likes and I then try to get a few new toddler/kids CDs from the library every week. This keeps Troy from getting sick of his favorites but isn't entirely unrecognizable to him.

2. Point out things outside the car that your child may find interesting as you pass by. Troy is really into trucks, buses, airplanes and bikes right now. So when we are stuck at a red light he is usually entertained if I can find something outside for him to watch.

3. Have some toys that are designated "car toys." If I save a few toys for long car trips only, Troy has a longer attention span for them.

4. Have a few play things within your reach that you can hand off to the back seat. There have been so many times that I have given Troy something to play with and then he either accidentally drops it or throws it and then he starts getting frustrated. If I have a couple things in the front seat I can hand them off to him, I am more prepared for this.

Of course, there are times when Elmo himself could not keep Troy happy in the car and for those situations I just try to grin and bear it. A lot of how Troy behaves in the car has to do with how tired he is and how active we were before we left the house. If I know we are going to be in the car for a while I usually try to run him out as much as possible so that he isn't quite as stir crazy.

Lifefactory Adult Glass Water Bottles

2010-05-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

You may remember an earlier post I did about Lifefactory's glass baby bottles with the colorful silicone sleeves. I was very sad to pack away all the bottles when Troy transitioned to the straw cup about seven months ago. I thought that would be the extent of my involvement with Lifefactory products until our next baby is born. However, I was really happy when they announced a new line of adult glass water bottles with the same style protective silicone sleeves.

I had heard a lot of great things about stainless steel bottles so I wasn't initially convinced that I would make the switch over to glass. However, when I ordered a sample of the product to evaluate if I wanted to carry it on Blue Moon Goods, I was very impressed. The bottles have a wide mouth which makes it really easy for me to put lime wedges in my water which I love. They also have measurement markers on the side so I can keep track of how much water I am drinking. I also found that the glass was much easier to clean than the stainless steel. I love that I can put them in the dishwasher with the silicone sleeves still on. There is also no funny taste in my water which I used to get with plastic.

With all the data out about the dangers of plastic, I can feel really good about the glass bottles that I use for my family. There are many fun colors to choose from. My personal favorites are pearl white and midnight blue. I encourage you to give them a try. I think you will especially notice a significant cost savings if you are exclusively drinking bottled water. Read more details about the bottles and see more images here.

FuzziBunz Introduces New Colors

2010-05-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

The cloth diaper line that I use for Troy and carry on Blue Moon Goods has launched a brand new selection of colors in the one size diapers and accessories. You can view the complete collection here: http://bluemoongoods.com/fuzzibunz_one_size_cloth_diaper.htm

I particularly like Big Sky and the Choco Truffle colors. The inside lining is extremely soft. I really notice a difference. We also were finally able to stock up on the hanging diaper pails which we usually sell out of as soon as we get them. The hanging diaper pails can be found here: http://bluemoongoods.com/fuzzibunz_cloth_diaper_accessories.htm

If you haven't tried one of the hanging diaper pails yet, I highly recommend them. They have a zipper on the bottom so when you transfer the diapers to the washing machine you don't have to touch anything. I have two of the pail/bags so I am never without one and I know I will be able to use them as laundry bags when all the kids are out of diapers.

I am planning on taking some pictures of Troy sporting the new colors soon. I am also very excited to use the pink and purple colors once we have our baby girl. :)

Stripping your diapers

2010-05-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

If you are using cloth diapers and washing them yourself as I am, you will probably start to notice that after a while even with the most diligent washing routine, your diapers will start to smell a bit off (to put it nicely). Even though Troy's diapers were very clean, I noticed that slowly over time they harbored a slight odor. I did some research and when other cloth diaper users encountered this problem they initiated a process called stripping. If you type "stripping cloth diapers" in Google you will get over 98,000 results. After browsing through several different approaches to this process, here is what I found to work the best for me:

1. Despite the temptation, avoid using bleach. Bleach is very hard on the diapers (particularly the outer portions) and can be very harsh on baby's skin.

2. Wash your diapers as you normally would first. It is important to start with clean diapers as using dirty ones may set in stains and discolorations.

3. Run your diapers on one wash cycle with an extra rinse without using any detergent. This will help remove any build up on the diapers. You will also want to use the hottest water possible on your machine. If you are concerned that the water from your washing machine isn't hot enough, you may want to crank up your water heater before beginning the stripping process. Just be sure to turn it back down when you are all finished.

4. If the above item doesn't get the smell out, you can add 1/2 cup of baking soda to the wash cycle. Just make sure to run a couple extra rinse cycles until there are no sign of any bubbles.

5. Line dry your diapers in the sun whenever possible. Sunlight is a natural way to remove stains and kill germs. I have had a lot of diapers that I thought were stained beyond repair and after a few hours in the sun they were good as new. Drying your diapers in the sun also uses less energy and will lengthen the life of your diapers as it isn't as harsh as the dryer.

6. Make absolutely sure you are never using detergents with dyes or colors and do not use dryer sheets or scented dryer balls on your diapers. If you notice that your diapers are getting particularly smelly, you may want to increase the frequency you wash them. I wash mine between every other day and every two days. Not washing your diapers enough will give stains and stink more opportunity to set and the washing machine will be fuller making it harder for everything to get clean.

I have found monthly diaper stripping to be all I need to keep Troy's diapers looking good and smelling like the sweet smell of nothing. On another note I wanted to let you know that FuzziBunz is coming out with some brand new colors of one size diapers and hanging diaper pails. They will be available on our Web site very soon. We expect to receive our shipment in early May. If you are interested in reserving some of these, or if you are just curious to see a preview of the new colors, please email info@bluemoongoods.com. I will also be taking some pictures of Troy showing off the new colors and posting them to our Web site.

Future Blue Moon Goods Team Member

2010-04-29T19:55:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to report that the Blue Moon Goods team will be getting bigger as I am pregnant again! I am due in September and I just found out that we are having a GIRL! My husband and I are so excited. I think in some ways it will be easier this time around since I have more experience from my time with Troy, but in some ways it will be harder since I will be juggling two. I already know a lot of things that I want to try to do differently, but there are a lot of things that I hope to try to replicate. In addition to my regular blog posts about parenting and baby products I may throw in the occasional pregnancy related post. I hope this is okay with everyone. I also intend to do some research on how to prepare older siblings for new additions to the family and I may post some of the results I find most interesting here. In the mean time Troy is sleeping peacefully and I am enjoying some much needed rest with my feet up. We will see what kind of crazy and fun discoveries tomorrow will bring for my adventures with Troy. :)

Being Sneaky

2010-04-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

I am just like most parents in that I want my kids to eat healthy meals that incorporate lots of vegetables and fruits and whole grains. I want meal time to be a time when we all come together and talk about our days and share stories and jokes. I want my kids to grow up knowing the importance of eating a wide variety of foods and having a willingness to try new things. Since becoming a parent, my views on how I would ideally like to feed my kids has not changed, however I have come to realize that it is a lot harder than I thought it would be and that my 17 month old can be surprisingly stubborn and closed minded. Not only has this affected my son's nutrition, but also our ability to enjoy meals and share quality family time.

I have blogged before about making my own baby food. This was great when Troy was an infant and happily ate anything I fed him. It was also easier because he was napping a lot and that gave me a lot more time to whip up some sweet potato puree or blended sweet peas. Now that he is older, this is getting harder and he is getting pickier. Although I try to have Troy eat what I am eating, there are many times that he simply won't eat what I am having or it isn't feasible. I decided I needed to kick up my game and come up with some ways to creatively entice Troy to eat healthy things. I recently checked out The Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine from the library. This book was written by a mother who encountered many difficulties getting her children to eat healthy food. She decided to "disguise" various healthy food inside her daughter's favorite foods. At first, I was skeptical because there are a lot of purees in the book that you make ahead of time. Although the purees were an extra step and a generated few extra dishes, I was really pleased with the way the food tasted and how well the vegetables, beans, fruits and whole grains blended with meals such as macaroni and cheese, meatloaf and even chocolate chip pancakes.

My food challenges with Troy have not completely gone away, but I feel better knowing that he is getting more nutrient rich food made with organic fruits and vegetables hidden inside. If you do check out the book and think it sounds like too much effort, keep in mind that you can do some of the prep ahead of time and you can double or triple the recipes so you don't have to make the purees as often. There are some shortcuts too like using jarred baby food or unsweetened applesauce or tomato paste from the grocery store.

Feeding my family will be a continually evolving task. I just hope that I can strike a balance between healthy and good tasting food. The more occasions I can combine both concepts, the better.

Troy pics

2010-04-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here are a few recent pictures of Troy. He is growing and changing so fast. He is also busier than ever which is part of the reason why I have not posted very much lately. I apologize for that. I never knew how truly amazing parenthood could be and I am very appreciative to get to experience it. Thank you, Troy!

Freedom to Eat

2010-04-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

When it comes to eating, sometimes it is easier to feed your toddler yourself. This is occasionally necessary when you are in a time crunch or perhaps in a nice restaurant. However, I think it is really important to let your children practice feeding themselves a lot no matter how messy or impractical it is. When Troy feeds himself, I cannot be sure of how much he actually eats, but he has a great time and always looks so proud of himself. I really value the importance of getting messy whether it be with a plateful of marinara sauce or sand at the park or even dirt in the backyard. I gave Troy a Popsicle for the first time the other day and he got all sticky, but it was a special moment I will never forget. The best part for him was playing with the remaining stick for about 20 minutes after the Popsicle was gone. Happy feasting!

It's Been A While

2010-03-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry for getting so behind in my blog posts. I just realized that almost the entire month of March has passed and I haven't posted anything. It seems like things are so crazy these days that sometimes I go to sleep shortly after Troy does.

Sleep used to be a big problem in our house. Troy was waking up at night and had a hard time napping during the day. The situation seemed to get worse and worse and Troy was sleeping less and getting more fussy. Finally, my husband and I decided several months ago that we had about as much as we could take and started letting Troy cry himself to sleep. This was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. (Besides maybe labor) However, in just two days Troy learned how to put himself to sleep and now he goes down drowsy but awake and he sleeps for about 12 hours every night straight through.

Once he started sleeping better at night, the naps started getting better too. Now he takes one nap a day and it is anywhere between 1.5- 2.5 hours. I found that having a specific bedtime routine really worked and doing calming, soothing things right before sleep seemed to help Troy unwind.

I will definitely start sleep training with our next baby much sooner and my advice to anyone having trouble is to start thinking of sleeping as a skill which your kids must learn how to do on their own. I have read a lot of books on the subject and the most powerful tool I found was my own intuition. I knew when Troy was tired and I knew when it was time for me to step aside and let him work it out. Hearing Troy cry it out for those two nights was brutal, however in the big picture he has cried a lot less over the past several months and I know that both Troy and I are much more fun to be around now that we aren't chronically sleep deprived. :)

I will be posting some more pictures soon. I just need to get them off my phone and onto my computer. Stay tuned.

Healthy Snacks To Go

2010-02-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

I have been struggling to come up with healthy snacks that I can take on the road for Troy that aren't super processed, high in sugar/sodium and loaded with carbs. Here are a few of the things that I have found that travel well, are pretty healthy and Troy will actually eat:

1. Freeze dried strawberries- I get the ones from Trader Joe's. Although they are a little expensive they are loaded with vitamin C and taste great.

2. Portable no sugar added apple sauce- Again from Trader Joe's I buy the ones called Apple Sauce Crushers. They come in portable packets that kids can slurp up. It can get messy if I don't use a spoon to feed them to Troy but they taste good and Troy always has fun eating them. They also have a carrot apple version which he equally loves.

3. Wheat crackers or cereal- A classic and a must have.

4. Graham crackers- These taste good and they are usually high in fiber.

5. Low fat string cheese- Usually high in calcium and have some protein so they will stick with you.

6. Dried fruit (blueberries, raisins, etc)- Although I pack these occasionally for Troy, I try to limit how often we have them since they have a lot of sugar and are pretty high calorie.

7. Bananas and avocados- Not together. If I pack an avocado I just cut it in half and share it with Troy. All you need to bring is a spoon to scoop out bite sized portions.

I think that covers most of the easy to pack snacks. Many of these items make great appetizers to entertain your tot while you get the main meal prepared. Troy absolutely loves black olives so if I need a few more minutes to get lunch going I can usually keep him happy with a few sliced black olives.

Trade in Your Lint for Balls

2010-02-06T12:08:00.000-08:00

I have blogged before about how much I love Nellie's All Natural laundry soda, but I wanted to do a quick post about the Nellie's PVC free dryer balls. These are fantastic. When I use Nellie's dryer balls my clothes dry much faster- probably around 30% faster. They also cut down on wrinkles and lint. Since the dryer balls make my clothes feel soft, I don't have to use fabric softener and I do not need to buy dryer sheets. This cuts down on waste and saves me a lot of money over time.

One nice feature of the PVC free dryer balls is that you can insert an optional fragrance stick to add a little flavor into your laundry. I have the lavender fragrance sticks which smell amazing. The center of the dryer balls pop out which is where you can insert the soy wax fragrance stick if you want. Each fragrance stick lasts about 10 cycles and you can use one or two sticks at a time depending on how much fragrance you want. The fragrance sticks are an essential oil blend making them phthalate free. I have two sets of dryer balls so I can use ones without fragrance on Troy's cloth diapers, clothes and sheets. I put lavender sticks in the other set so my clothes and towels can have a light scent.

So, there you have it. I think Nellie's makes really clever products that are well designed and environmentally friendly. If you are interested in cutting down your drying time (and thus energy usage), having less wrinkles, having less lint and never having to buy fabric softener or dryer sheets again, I encourage you to give Nellie's PVC free Dryer Balls a try. You can get Nellie's PVC free dryer balls at a very low price here:

http://bluemoongoods.com/nellies_all_natural_laundry_soda_nuggests_dryerballs.htm

How I have changed as a parent

2010-01-27T20:34:00.000-08:00

In looking back at the past 14 months since Troy has been born, I have come to realize that I have changed a lot as a parent. Some changes have been for the better and some are just different. Here are a few examples of how things have changed:

1. I used to obsess over picking out the cutest outfit for Troy and would try to coordinate with a matching cloth diaper. Now I am just happy if I have him in 2 shoes, clothes that are not dirty and that are weather appropriate.

2. I used to take great measures to get all the stains out of my cloth diapers and inserts. Now I am okay with some slight discoloration as long as I know the diaper is clean.

3. I used to button every button and close every snap on Troy's outfits. Now I am very happy with two or sometimes just one snap closed on his onesies.

4. I used to agonize over how I was going to get Troy to burp after a feeding. I would pat his back for long periods of time and worry about him. Now Troy and I usually laugh after he burps because they usually catch both of us by surprise.

5. I used to put a bib on Troy faithfully for every single meal. Now I hardly ever use bibs and when I do, Troy typically rips them off and they end up on the floor.

6. I used to think I was tired at the end of the day when Troy was taking 3+ naps a day and only woke up in the middle of the night for a quick nursing session. Now I really know what it means to be tired from chasing around a very mobile and very fast toddler who does not like to sleep and sometimes requires much effort to put back to sleep at 2am.

7. I used to think that parents with screaming kids were obnoxious and not giving their kids enough attention. Now I usually don't even notice when kids are screaming in public places...

8. I used to cook elaborate baby recipes for Troy including blackberry and ricotta parfait and roasted red pepper and goat cheese. Now I just cut up pieces of whatever I am eating and hope that he likes it.

9. I used to think that I would carry Troy in the front carrier everywhere I went for at least the first two years of his life. Now that he is almost 27 pounds I am happy when I can carry him and a full diaper bag to and from the car.

10. I used to think that everything about parenting would be natural and come easily and I would be the best mom with the cleanest house and the best looking kid in town. Now I know that no matter how prepared I am, parenting is a wild ride with many twists and turns. I no longer strive for a spotless house and a dressed up kid, rather I hope to be a supportive, loving and fun mom with a decently clean house and a happy, well adjusted kid.

But, ask me about these things again in a year, I am sure all my philosophies will have changed completely again. :)

Play date with Aaron

2010-01-23T19:06:00.000-08:00

Last week Troy and I had a play date with Aaron and his mom, Kristin. I have blogged before about the importance of play dates for both the kids as well as the parents. As Troy gets older I can see that he continues to get more out of social get togethers. Here are some pictures of the boys.

Drying Rack for Glass Baby Bottles

2010-01-23T18:41:00.000-08:00

I was going through some of my older posts and realized that I never did a follow up post about the best drying rack I have found for glass bottles. Even though Troy has not been using bottles for a while now, I still use a drying rack for his straw cups, toothbrush and other miscellaneous baby items. The problem with using a regular plastic drying rack is that it can't support the weight of several glass bottles. I also found that many of the ones I tried before had draining problems so there would be standing water in the bottom of the rack which isn't very sanitary. I tried a spinning bottle drying rack which sounded pretty cool, but it was flimsy, took up a lot of space on my countertop and I never was able to use the "spinning" feature since my bottles were too heavy. The best solution I have found for drying glass baby bottles and accessories is the Boon Grass Countertop Drying Rack.

I was using a different drying rack before this one came out, but I truly prefer the Boon model. Like everything else Boon makes, it is BPA, Phthalate and PVC free. Aside from supporting the weight of several glass bottles and accessories at once, this two piece design is easy to clean. Water drains into the lower tray while everything rests on flexible grass blades to air dry. Both parts are dishwasher safe which is a must in my book, plus it looks pretty cool on the countertop. It does get a little crowded if you are trying to dry a lot of things at once, but I haven't ever run out of space completely. If you are looking for a creative baby shower gift, I think this one fits the bill. However, I wish this rack had a place for my bottle cleaning brush. Oh well, nine out of ten is still pretty good!

Disneyland

2010-01-12T10:52:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. We just got back from Troy's first trip to Disneyland. I received my fair share of raised eyebrows at the reference to bringing my 13 month old son to Disneyland, but let me tell you, it was spectacular. They have tons of rides there that are perfect for this age group. Troy loved the Pirates of the Carribean, Small World, the Toy Story ride and many others. They also have an entire section of California Adventure called A Bug's Land (a tribute to the movie A Bug's Life) which is dedicated to smaller tots.

We decided to bring the Bob stroller, which was somewhat cumbersome at the airport, but so worth it at the park. I was considering renting a Disneyland stroller and saving the hassle, but it wouldn't have done us a lot of good in transporting Troy from Disneyland to the hotel. We stayed at the Disneyland hotel which was pretty close to the parks so this is especially important if you are going to be staying somewhere a little bit farther away.

We went with my parents which was also very helpful. We took turns staying in the hotel with Troy and going out to the park at night. It was the first time my parents had been to Disneyland in about 15 years so a lot had changed.

They have a baby center there which is nice for changing diapers, nursing or buying baby supplies. Keep in mind that the supplies are more expensive here so I would recommend you try to bring your own. Another important thing to know is that there are changing tables in both the women's and men's bathrooms. (Just in case your husband tries to get out of diaper duty)

If you have the opportunity to bring your baby to Disneyland, I highly recommend it- especially if you can have family come along too. I am a bit of a Disney freak, but I believe even non die hard fans can have a great time filled with lifetime memories.

Busy bees

2009-12-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

I wanted to apologize for not posting anything recently. We have had a hectic couple of weeks with the holidays and family coming in from out of town. We are also leaving for Disneyland in a few days and I have been busying trying to get my ducks in a row for Troy's first visit there.

I mentioned earlier that I was going to try a new straw cup for Troy from Innobaby called Nursin Smart. We received it a few weeks ago and it is fantastic! It is all made of medical grade silicone so there are no concerns about PVC or BPA. The coolest part about this straw cup is that you can squeeze it to help your baby learn how to use a straw. Troy caught on after about two uses and does not need any squeezing to prompt his drinking. Now he can use any kind of straw without any problem.

Another advantage of using straws instead of sippys is that you don't have to tilt the cup to get fluid out. I initially wanted to get away from the sippy cups because research has shown that sippy cups can lead to dental cavities as well as speech impediments. The one downside of the Innobaby design (and it is kind of a big downside) is the cleaning. The straws have three tiny parts which all need to be disassembled and cleaned separately. Since I only have two of these cups right now I feel like I am cleaning them constantly, but I intend to get a few more. I suppose now that Troy knows how to use a straw I am not limited to the Innobaby design, I just really like the look and feel of it and it is familiar to Troy.

I am also very happy that Troy has been fully transitioned to whole milk for a while now and has not had a bottle for over a month. My new project will be discovering a way to keep the milk cold while we are away from home. Right now I am taking an ice pack with me, but I am hoping to find a stainless steel straw cup which will keep the milk colder for longer. Stay tuned for an update on that later. Even though I am happy that Troy's transition away from the bottle was very smooth and relatively uneventful, I really liked the Wee-Go glass baby bottles and look forward to using them with our next baby. :)

Tis the season for staying healthy

2009-12-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

This is the time of year when everyone is spreading holiday cheer as well as holiday germs. This will be Troy's second Christmas, but his first holiday as a truly mobile and curious tot. Last Christmas he slept most of the day since he was only one month old. Here are some tips to help you enjoy this special time of year while keeping your family healthy.

1. Avoid crowds. This can be challenging during a time when many people are taking time off work and stores have lines out the door. However, these crowded areas are the most likely to promote the spread of germs. If you must venture to a busy place, try to limit the amount of time you spend there. You can also put your baby in a stroller or front carrier which will make them less accessible to others who may want to hold or touch them.

2. Keep things clean. Wash your hands frequently throughout the day and wash your baby's hands when necessary. We have gotten in the habit of washing our hands and taking off our shoes when we first come in the house to prevent bringing things in from outside. Wipe down surfaces in public places such as table tops in restaurants, handles of grocery carts or the handle bars on swings. You may also want to sanitize commonly used surfaces in your home such as your phone, remote control, etc.

3. Avoid sick people. Although this may seem obvious, sometimes we forget how some small annoying symptoms to adults can be much more catastrophic to children. I would recommend politely asking anyone who plans to have contact with your baby if they have a cough, fever, sore throat or any other symptoms of a cold.

4. Avoid doctor's offices when possible. Waiting rooms harbor tons of germs especially on books and magazines, toys, etc. If you must visit your doc's office, bring your own toys from home to entertain your little one and avoid touching anything there.

Troy the morning after his birthday party

How we made car rides a little more enjoyable for everyone

2009-12-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

One baby item that has been a huge success for us is our Britax Boulevard car seat. This car seat is fantastic. It is roomy, comfortable, soft and most importantly very safe. When we had our car seat inspected for proper installation, we were told to put the car seat in the middle seat facing backwards. I was worried that the car seat would take up a lot of room but four adults can comfortably ride in our car with Troy in the back. Troy has taken several naps in the Britax car seat and his head seems to be very well supported. According to Britax, here is a run down of when and how long a child should remain rear or forward facing with this car seat:

Recommended Use: Rear Facing
-Child Weight: 5 lbs. - 35 lbs.
-Standing Height: 49" or less
-Seated Shoulder Height: 10.5" - 16"

Recommended Use: Forward Facing
-Child Weight: 1 year & 20 lbs. - 65 lbs.
-Standing Height: 49" or less
-Seated Shoulder Height: 12" - 16"

Although having Troy face backwards is a little annoying, I am going to try to keep him in that position for as long as it is safe. I have read other customer reviews of this product and most everyone seems to agree that this is a very well made durable car seat.

Happy 1st Birthday Troy!

2009-12-02T11:33:00.001-08:00

I just can't believe that the youngest member of the Blue Moon Goods team turned one on Sunday November 29th. Troy celebrated this big milestone with a Sesame Street themed party and strawberry ice cream cake. Troy did not disappoint his guests by crawling into the middle of the room and dancing to the music. He also gave a lot of kisses.

Unfortunately turning one means 12 month immunizations. Troy did great though with minimal crying and no fever or swelling. He is such a trooper. For the past few weeks we have begun the transition to whole milk. We are also hoping to completely ditch the bottles by the start of 2010. Since Troy has been primarily drinking out of sippy cups, I began to do some research on the Internet. It turns out that sippy cups have been linked to cavities and speech problems in some children and the general recommendation is straw cups. I have ordered one on Amazon by Innobaby. It is a nine ounce silicone training cup with a straw. I like that it has handles and is all medical grade silicone. You can also squeeze the bottle to teach your toddler how to drink from a straw cup. I will do another post once we have tried it to share our experience.

Maclaren Recall Update

2009-11-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

As a follow up to my previous posts about the Maclaren stroller recall, I wanted to let everyone know that I received the hinge covers from Maclaren last week. They arrived in the time frame I was expecting and they were very easy to install as promised. Overall, I think Maclaren did a pretty good job of handling their major recall. If you have a Maclaren stroller, or know someone who does, I highly encourage you to visit their Web site and follow the instructions for how to get the hinge covers.

This whole experience has made me think about recalled products in general. It can be very time consuming trying to stay on top of all recalled items, but when it comes to baby stuff I believe the investment is well worth it. One place where you can learn about some recalls not including toys is the US Consumer Product Safety Commission site here: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/child.html

Sometimes you can also find product recall information in publications such as Parent Magazine.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-27T10:37:00.000-08:00

Troy had his first Thanksgiving yesterday. Now he has celebrated every major holiday. I can't believe it will be his first birthday in a few days. I hope everyone is enjoying some family time this holiday season!

Staying in the Clear

2009-11-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

I have had a couple people email me about some of my tips for preventing diaper rash. Although this isn't a particularly glamorous topic, it is one that I have had a lot of experience with. Troy had a form of chronic diaper rash for several months. We went to the doctor several times and were told to keep using Desitin. I decided to conduct my own research and found a lot of things that worked very well and some others that weren't as helpful. Here are my tips in a nutshell:

There are some things that you can do to prevent diaper rash from ever starting. I tend to think that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. The number one thing that worked for me in preventing the rash is giving the skin some time to "air out." Your baby's skin is right next to a diaper for most of the day and any time that you can expose the skin to the air will help keep it dry. If you are doing cloth diapers, you can take off the soiled diaper and let your baby "air out" while you assemble a new diaper. This used to be a lot easier when Troy was a newborn because he wasn't so squirmy. Now I just give him a toy or a book to play with while we are doing a change.

The next thing that helped us was giving Troy a daily bath. It doesn't have to be a full on head to toe scrub, just a little soak in the warm water will help. I don't even use soap every time. I simply added the bath to our bedtime routine. This ensures that Troy gets clean and that he knows when bedtime is approaching.

Some other techniques include:

1. Changing your baby's diaper often- probably every 2-3 hours.
2. Making sure the skin is completely dry before putting a new diaper on. If you are using disposable wipes, make sure to use a dry cloth after the change. Since I am using cloth wipes I just use the dry side of the wipe.
3. Do not use products that contain any fragrance or dyes. I started using olive oil instead of baby oil in my homemade wipe solution. Many brands such as Pampers use fragrance in both their wipes and disposable diapers so those may be the culprits of the irritation.
4. After each change, use the a blow dryer on the area briefly on a low setting. This will ensure the area gets dry. Since my son was born in November, the warmish air was really nice during the winter. Just make sure it isn't too hot.
5. Use diaper rash creams sparingly. I have tried Desitin and Beaudreau's Paste and have luke warm feelings about them. They can be helpful, but they can also create a barrier preventing the area from getting any oxygen. You also do not want to use rash creams with cloth diapers because they can stain them.
6. If you are using cloth diapers, make sure you are using an appropriate detergent for cloth diapers and make sure it doesn't have any perfumes, colors, dyes or additives. You should also wash the diapers with an extra rinse after every cycle.

If the diaper rash persists for several days or gets worse, of course you will want to contact your doctor. These tips are not designed to substitute medical advice. They are just things that have worked for us. Troy has not had one iota of diaper rash since we switched to cloth diapers. :)

Walking Around Like Crazy

2009-11-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

Boon Flair Highchair Review

2009-11-12T13:57:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is our video review of the Boon Flair Highchair. Enjoy!

Maclaren Stroller Recall Update

2009-11-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post a quick update about the Maclaren stroller recall. I was able to get onto their site this morning and request the hinge replacement part quite easily. Maclaren claims that the hinge covers will be easy to install and that I should receive them in 5-7 days. In the mean time we will be sticking with our trusty Bob stroller. I really prefer our Bob to the Maclaren for most everything, but it is nice to have an umbrella option when you are making a quick trip.

Maclaren Stroller Recall

2009-11-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

Maclaren, a British stroller company, has issued the second largest recall of strollers since 2000 according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The reason for this recall is that it has been reported that children have been putting their fingers in a side hinge when parents are unfolding the stroller. This has caused 12 fingertip amputations thus far according to the CPSC. The recommended course of action is to contact Maclaren to request a free hinge cover which will supposedly resolve the hinge issue.

All of the nine single and double Maclaren umbrella stroller models purchased between 1999 and November 2009 are in need of the hinge cover. You can call Maclaren at 877-688-2326 Monday through Friday between the hours of 8am -5pm Eastern time. Alternatively you can visit their Web site here: http://www.maclarenbaby.com/us/content/view/88573/98889729/lang,en/ However, every time I have checked the Web site it has said it is currently unavailable. This is probably due to the high volume of traffic to the site. I am a little surprised that Maclaren did not do something to enable the Web site to handle this surge of activity before making the announcement.

You can view the complete press release from the Consumer Product Safety Commission here: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/maclaren-usa-recalls-to-repair-strollers-following-fingertip-amputations-69562542.html

I will be trying to get in touch with them tomorrow as we have the Maclaren Quest umbrella stroller. Until now I have been very happy with it. We shall see how well the company handles this recall. So far I have not been very impressed with their lack of availability to concerned customers. Also, just to clarify, I am in no way associated with Maclaren and do not have the ability to issue replacement parts.

Here is a picture of the Maclaren Quest model that I have for Troy:

California Adult??

2009-11-04T12:21:00.001-08:00

I may have previously mentioned my dislike for baby products that contain fragrance, dyes or other unnatural ingredients. In doing a lot of research to determine which skin and body care products I would use for Troy, I learned a lot of interesting and somewhat distressing things.

First, many "fragrance free" products actually contain scent masking agents. That is not something that sounds natural. Also some tear free products contain numbing agents. Technically just water can make a baby tear up so how is it that a shampoo doesn't? It continues to amaze me how many products contain parabens which we now consider a carcinogen. In fact, many of the ingredients found in health and beauty products in the United States are banned in other countries because they are considered unsafe. Lastly, as if to add insult to injury, many of these harmful and artificial products have loads of packaging which generates more waste! Agh!

As consumers we must be very careful because many companies brand themselves as "green" or "natural" because their product has one or two natural components while the rest of the ingredients are toxic or harmful. Not that it is all gloom and doom. There are many great baby products available which are safe and effective. I have blogged in the past about Badger sunscreen and I am also a big fan of the Baby Belly Bar from Honey House Naturals. I also really like California Baby.

I have been using the California Baby Super Sensitive line on Troy since he was born. They are just fabulous. All natural, totally safe, organic, have minimal packaging and are cruelty free (a nice plus). I have also discovered that you really don't need to use very much to be effective. The one exception to this is sunscreen as I believe more protection is better. However when it comes to shampoo, lotion, body wash, etc.- less is more.

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I decided to have a "paraben purging party" where we got rid of any and all bath and body products that contain parabens and other unnatural ingredients. I am very sorry to report that almost everything was tossed except, you guessed it, Troy's stuff. I looked at David and asked, "Why don't we use these for us too? Just because we are not babies doesn't mean we should have to tolerate unsafe products that contain tons of cheap fillers and dangerous parabens!" It kind of got me thinking that if we strive to live more like babies by eating more wholesome organic food, getting enough sleep every night, using safe and gentle body products, etc., we would probably all be much better off.

Now our entire family uses the California Baby line for everything from the super sensitive shampoo to the sunscreens. Since it can get kind of expensive with all of us using these products, we order them in bulk to save money. I saw on the California Baby Web site that they carry a bunch of different essential oils and a cool looking diffuser which I hope to try soon. I will follow up with another post about that if I get the chance to try them.

The Search for the Perfect Sippy Cup...

2009-11-04T11:29:00.000-08:00

...goes on I'm afraid.

I have found one that I am pretty happy with, but it doesn't have everything I was hoping for.

The main things that I want in a sippy cup include:

1. Bisphenol-A (BPA), phthalate, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) free- if the sippy cup is plastic. Ideally I would like a stainless steal one since you don't have to worry about the leaching chemicals and it won't give the water a funny taste.
2. Won't leak if turned over, thrown, sat on, etc. Troy has made a habit of throwing his sippy cup when he is done with it and the one we have right now leaks a little on the floor every time he does this.
3. Easy to clean and dishwasher safe. Ideally the sippy cup wouldn't have a lot of small parts that can get lost or require special cleaning.
4. Has two big handles that are easy for Troy to hold onto.
5. Is durable and long lasting. I would like to find one that I can use for future children and that won't get cloudy or break down.
6. Will fit into the cup holder on my stroller (the Bob jogging stroller) and the bottle sleeve in my diaper bag (Skip Hop Studio Tote Bag).
7. Won't cost an arm and a leg since I intend to get several of them.

I am starting to think this sippy cup doesn't exist... The one that I am using now, and Troy seems to like, is the Thinkbaby 9 oz. Trainer Cup.

The spout is silicone which is great, and the cup has a very nice shape. Troy can easily drink from it himself at meals. I tried drinking out of it too and the flow is pretty good. Some sippys require you to suck so hard to get anything out of it. Troy also found it pretty entertaining to see my drinking out of his sippy. It is easy to clean and not very expensive. The only two things I would change would be to have the cup be stainless steal and for there to be an easier way to get the spout and handles to line up. Many times when I twist on the spout it doesn't line up with the handles so I have to go back and adjust how I put the spout in. Other than that it is a great sippy cup.

Not that it is anything new, but I continue to be appalled by the sippy cups being sold at places like Target and Babies R Us since many do not say anything about BPA. Troy not only drinks from his sippy cups but he chews and sucks on them so having a silicone spout is very important to me.

New Videos

2009-11-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. I just can't believe how fast the time is going by. It is already November and almost Troy's first birthday! I am going to begin researching birthday cake recipes that are lower in sugar and hopefully incorporate some servings of fruit for Troy's first taste of cake. I will be sure to post any recipes that we like.

In the mean time Troy and I have created two more videos. In these clips we are reviewing the Wee-Go Glass Baby Bottles from Lifefactory and the hats and sunglasses from Baby Banz. Please feel free to view the videos below. I know that I also promised a video review of Troy's highchair. That will be coming soon too. Troy and I both had our flu shots last week so I want to make sure we are both feeling good before we make another video.

Just for Fun

2009-10-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Troy's first Halloween party with Las Madres- the mom's group that I joined and a couple of pictures of our family at the Fall Festival.

For the Love of Vegetables

2009-10-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

According to an article from USA Today, parents have a lot of influence when it comes to getting their kids to eat vegetables. The figures on childhood obesity are staggering and therefore I think it is very important to get your kids eating vegetables early and frequently.

Parents Can Help Their Children Grow To Love Vegetables
by Liz Szabo

To view the full article, please click here

Babies actually have more taste buds before birth than at any other time of life. They can detect subtle flavors from their mothers' diet through their amniotic fluid. These early exposures create a lasting "imprint" on children's tastes. One study showed that babies of women who drank carrot juice while pregnant were more likely than others to enjoy carrots when they were 6 months old.

Infants are surprisingly adventurous from the age of 6 months to 13 months, a critical time for the formation of their future preferences. They can learn to like almost anything, although it may take six to 10 tastings.

Yet few parents make the most of this crucial window. Research shows that 94% of parents give up offering new foods after only five tries, Greene says. While children's diets have improved modestly in recent years, a new study of kids under age 4 shows that nearly a third eat no vegetables a day.

Introducing new flavors and textures gets harder as kids grow. After age 2 or 2½, when food preferences solidify, it could take 90 attempts to get a child to like something new — at least until puberty, when some kids rediscover their love for new things.

Picky eaters often develop bad habits, filling up on familiar fast foods instead of eating more wholesome family meals. That helps explain a worrisome trend: Nearly 25% of our meals today come from fast food, compared with 10% of meals two decades ago.

Many parents don't realize the problem with letting babies have sweets. "If you start potato chips and sweets early, then everything else will taste bland," says Atlanta pediatrician Jennifer Shu, co-author of Food Fights. "It trains their taste buds."

Everyone wins

With so many temptations, parents who want to raise healthy eaters need to expose their children to the sights, smells and feel of vegetables early and often, Greene says. He encourages parents to take children to farmers markets, letting them hold lumpy sweet potatoes and smell ripe peaches.

Preparing homemade baby food with a food grinder is far cheaper than buying jarred foods, says Greene, who carries a small food mill to show parents how to do it.

Because these purees taste more like the "real" food eaten by adults, they help babies make the transition eating a family meal, says Annabel Karmel, author of Top 100 Baby Purees.

"We're conditioning our children to like something that doesn't taste like real food," she says. "Parents think they're saving time, but they're really causing themselves trouble down the line."

Like the kids in Jana's child-care center, children are more willing to try something if they've had a hand in preparing it, Karmel says.

Training toddlers to enjoy the family meal also saves parents time in the long run, because it keeps them from becoming short-order cooks.

"Every bite of food is either an investment in your child's body, or a debt that we'll have to repay somehow," Greene says. Teaching children to love healthy food, he says, "is such a wonderful gift for the rest of their lives."

The Perfect Diaper Bag

2009-10-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

I have looked high and low to find the perfect diaper bag. I went through four different styles before I found my diaper bag soul mate. In the beginning I couldn't justify spending any money on a diaper bag. I thought using a backpack would be just as good and a lot cheaper. So I started out using the backpack I had in college.

The problem with using a backpack that isn't designed for holding baby stuff is that everything was constantly disorganized. Even though I could fit everything in the backpack, there wasn't a place to store the bottles and there weren't enough smaller pockets to store burp cloths and other small items. However I stuck with the backpack for a while, determined to make it work.

I knew I was going to have to find another solution when I switched to cloth diapers. Now instead of carrying around 4 or 5 disposables, I am carrying 4 or 5 cloth diapers and inserts. I am also having to carry the dirty diapers in a small tote bag to wash when I get home.

I bought a couple diaper bags from Babies R Us (I continue to be disappointed with my purchases from this store) which proved to be either too small or poorly constructed. I even used the free one that Kaiser gave us when Troy was born for a while but it just wasn't made to last.

Finally, I decided to splurge for a bag from Skip Hop which had great reviews across the board and I had seen at a couple play dates- The Studio Tote Bag. I LOVE this diaper bag. It costs way more that I ever wanted to pay for a diaper bag, but after months of enduring sub-par options, I was willing to make the sacrifice. This bag has two insulated side pockets to hold bottles, food and sippy cups and 12 more pockets for everything else. The best part is the adjustable stroller straps which allow the bag to attach to the handlebars of any stroller. Sometimes when the bag is strapped to our Maclaren Quest umbrella stroller, it makes it a bit tippy when Troy isn't sitting in the stroller. However, I mostly use it with our Bob jogging stroller and enjoy being hands free.

I am sure there are other fantastic bags out there, but after my long diaper bag saga, here is what I would recommend before you buy a diaper bag:

1. Try it on. If you have found the best price online, I would still recommend you find a store that carries the bag to give it a test run.
2. Decide if you want a shoulder bag, a backpack or a messenger style bag.
3. Take into consideration who else will be carrying the bag. I wanted to pick something black and gender neutral and also something that my husband wouldn't squawk about carrying occasionally.
4. Find a diaper bag with stroller straps. To me this is more important than having lots of pockets or even places to hold bottles. Diaper bags get heavy. Why carry all that weight if you don't have to?
5. Go for the bags with sturdy fabrics. There are a lot of cheap diaper bags out there that will most likely rip and tear. I also had a few bags where the zipper broke within a couple weeks of use. Remember cute does not always equal practical and functional.
6. Read the reviews. I got a lot of insight about various diaper bags from reading customer reviews on Amazon and other places. However, take the reviews that people leave before their kids are born with a grain of salt. I was very surprised to see a lot of people had left positive reviews on diaper bags before they had actually taken them out and used them. In my opinion, you simply cannot judge a diaper bag by its appearance.