Attention Baby Food Making Moms!

I have a product review for you today! My friend bought me a Reynolds Handi-Vac and gave it to me as a present last night because she knows I make Baby J's baby food and lots of things from scratch. This thing is pretty cool!
So the thing on top sucks the air out of the bags so that things don't get freezer burned or frost on them. Take these carrots for example. They are not freezer burned...yet, but they have a lovely coating of frost on them from each time I open them and then try to re close the bags (yes, double bagged with Ziploc freezer bags) with no air. Before I was using a straw and sucking the air out the best I could.

I rinsed each cube and dried it on a clean towel and then used the Handi-Vac...looks much better and every time I remove some cubes I can just suck the air out in like 5 seconds and move on. I have NO idea if it will really work, but I'll let you know. Getting the air out was a breeze though!

I don't like using lots of plastics because of BPA, but after perusing some BPA sites, they say that hard plastics are the biggest offenders and one researcher from U of Missouri (Vom Saal) said that "heat acid, alcohol, harsh detergents, age and microwaving" are what speed up the release of and release the most BPA. I will hand wash my bags with Melaleuca dish detergent and hopefully not be contaminating too much food!

Moving on...CF Mama had mentioned in a comment recently she'd have to check into my Superporridge. Well, it isn't mine, at least not the concept or the name. Those are from "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. However, his particular blend is made by me!

___________________________________________________

Caution: Do not use unless your doctor thinks you need to. It is about 29% of the calories the average 11-13 month old needs in a day...and only makes 1/2 cup. HOWEVER, if you want to try it use breastmilk or 'regular' formula (instead of PediaSure) The University of Michigan Health System (C.S. Mott Children's Hospital site) says that the average 'regular' formula and the average woman's breastmilk is 20 calories/oz. That would knock this superporridge from 251 cal down to 231 cal. Making it more like 26% of their calories for the day. OR make it with water and that makes it 191 cal (21%).

_________________________________________________

Of course your doctor can tell you what your child needs to grow, I have no idea (I only know my kid!). I just know that on average, a child 11-13 months consumes 900 calories/day. Baby J needs 1,250 to grow right now...that will go up when he starts walking. Which is only like 350 more (but our dietitian says kids eat too much in general...so the 900 may be too high) I try to keep him right at 1,250. Anyway, all I am saying is be careful because that is 26% of what most kids would need, even if made with breastmilk and that is only one meal...you have got at least 2 more meals, a snack or so, and bottles/consumption of milk/formula to consider on top of that. Don't forget that kids in this age range need around 24 oz (480 cal) a day. Again, I'm not a doctor, I just have done lots of asking questions of Baby J's dietitian and online. Ok, I shouldn't get sued now that I got all of that out of the way. If you click where your mouse turns into a hand, there were different things above you could click on to see where I got some of my information. Sorry, I can't video tape our dietitian and put her on here...something about privacy...

___________________________________________________

MOVING ON! For those of you who made it through that rambling, here is the recipe for the 251 calorie Superporridge.

1/8 c. instant rice cereal (I make it also...but a friend gave me 3-4 boxes of organic rice cereal and I'm not complaining!)

2 Tbs avocado, pureed

1/2 tsp. moringa (if you don't have this, don't worry about it...great stuff though!)

1 Tbs. tahini

1/4 c. PediaSure (strawberry flavored takes the edge off the tahini)

1 tsp. ground flaxseed (grind fresh daily or grind and freeze)

1 tsp. wheat germ

liquid vitamins

Mix well

______________________________________________

You can make 2 days worth at a time, just make sure it is covered and refrigerated. The second day it may have some brown streaks in it because avocado turns brown when exposed to air (normal). When you make avocado puree, keep the extra covered tightly and either freeze or refrigerate and use within a few days. It gets nasty if you try to make more than 2 servings...turns all brown and runny and smelly. Trust me :o)

Let me know if it works for you!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things...

Mama Bear twittered the other night about doing a "Favorite Things" post and if anyone else wanted to do it too. I had several things I'd taken pictures of/wanted to share but didn't really fit into a post, so thanks Carrie! To start off, I am not including my Bible (which is still from 1995 and falling apart...they don't sell that particular one anymore and I am very fond of it) or any of the devotional books I have really enjoyed. I think that might end up as a post in itself.

These are in no particular order...just how Blogger uploaded them. I tried to pick some things that other people might not know about/benefit from.

First up is the Sepia setting on my camera. I find it by hitting "ok" on my Olympus camera, then Mode Menu, then Camera, then Function, then Sepia. That's for anyone else out there who might have an Olympus and wants to try it. I am really excited for next week's I ♥ Faces contest that is going to use it!

Next up is the boys' bedroom. Here is a picture of Baby J who is pulling up like a champ these days. He loves to stand, and seems how we weren't allowed to let him until he did it by himself...well he gets even a bigger kick out of it. Anyway, the boys' room is a conglomeration of things I had picked up since high school (think I wanted to be a mom?), things my mom and I bought on e-bay, and garage sale finds. It is a Beatrix Potter/Old Pooh theme. I couldn't paint over the Pooh and Eeyore that were already on the wall when we moved in, so my mom added some murals like the one you see behind Baby J. Isn't she a great artist? The colors all fit together nicely. There is a Frog and Toad mural behind their door too. So cute!

Another favorite thing is the diaper you see Baby J wearing in both pictures above. It is a Haute pocket diaper. I have three that I bought used from The Cloth Diaperin' Mama. They work SO well. Never had a leak since we started using them.
The other diapers we use are Thirsties covers over birds eye flats. We haven't had success with their fab fitteds or AIOs, but the covers are used daily. (If you want more information on how I cloth diaper or want to think I am completely nuts go to http://www.clothcrazy.blogspot.com/)

Next is my sling from Kangaroo Korner. Mine is a Bali Breeze made by Gypsy Mama. I use either that or my ring slings (I make those) almost daily. While we do use a stroller, sometimes it is easier not to have to take it. Especially like when we were at the mall carnival (above) or in the children's museum today.

I know I've shared this picture before, but it is a classic. I wanted to direct your attention to the bib Snug is wearing. It is a bib that has SLEEVES* from IKEA. They were also really cheap...I think we got a package of two for $3. Because Snug is too big for them (it is all we had on hand this night) my mom took one apart, made him a larger size, and then fixed the original.

*If you have ever eaten a meal with Snug you will know that he may need a bib and or sleeves until he is a teenager

Probably is kinda dumb to blog about our favorite bubbles, but it actually was an issue this spring. The bubble tumbler is great, guess who it came from? Yep, my mom. But what is inside of it is the hot issue. We bought "Miracle Bubbles" from Wal-Mart and they were anything BUT a miracle. They didn't blow bubbles. I could eek out a few tiny ones, but the kids couldn't get anything. I was so disappointed because I got a HUGE container of them and thought it was what we had purchased last year. Right before we went to Virginia Beach I let Snug pick out a travel size bottle of bubbles to take with us. He chose some made by iNFINITE BUBBLES (also Wal-Mart) and they were amazing. I am pretty sure from looking at the logo it is the kind I bought last year in bulk. Too bad. I am working on the big thing of them I bought by adding dish soap to them...seems to be helping. So if you haven't bought yours yet, go for iNFINITE BUBBLES.

I blogged the other day about finding some all natural paraben free soap in Cedarville. My friend Christine wanted to know what I thought about it. I wasn't sure at first, but I think it is a keeper. You can order online if you want to try it and don't live near Cedarville (Beans N Cream sells it). Click on the picture and it will take you there. I do like it, but as I use it I feel really dried out. However, as soon as I dry off from the shower that feeling is gone. It smells nice too, and I have the Pure and Simple without anything added to make it smell. They have smelly ones too. So Christine, I give it one and a half thumbs up!

Ok Mitt, I know you are on vacation, but you'll recognize these. We have and love Bumpy Orbit Labels for both boys with their first and last name (for privacy reasons I don't use their names on the blog so I copied this from the website). It makes it easier when we take things to church or playgroup to get them back! I got them when Snug was a baby and will get more if we have another baby. SO much easier than tape labels or marker.

Speaking of Snug he just yelled "there's my sippy cup, right there!" when he saw this picture on the computer. (He is watching Bob the Builder as his 30 minutes of TV and Baby J is sleeping) This is his Nalgene BPA free sippy cup. He uses a real cup unless we leave home, but we are out and about quite a bit so this is used daily. He drinks lots and lots of water and I don't really want spillage in my van!

This picture was taken for my organizational post (also organized by Mama Bear..it was also a contest that I won!). This picture shows LOTS of my favorite things. We'll start on the left. Melaleuca products, IKEA containers, Longaberger baskets, and my Kitchen Aid mixer. Many, many of my favorite things. Not sure how I left this one off...but I remembered and just added it. We bought it for our diapers...but ended up using it for everything. Charlie's is environmentally friendly, cloth diaper preferred, and great for people with allergies. We were using Melaleuca products that we liked, but this replaced them fast. It is cheaper* than Melaleuca and we don't use any fabric softener anymore-don't need to.

*when we buy the 5 gallon bucket of it

We first saw Go Fish perform on JellyTelly (another "favorite") a few months ago. When I was in the Family Christan Bookstore picking up some things for our church, this caught my eye. TERRIBLE as it was, I got it out of budget (not a good idea, sorry Dave Ramsey...also a favorite thing) and Snug loves it...finally a break from Bob and Larry!

But my top 3 favorite things are:

My husband!

My Snug Bug (this was also from the mall carnival...how cute is he? He is also wearing one of my favorite shirts he owns. Mindy, recognize anyone?)

And our little miracle Baby J :o)

Are your retinas bleeding yet? Mine are! This post took SUPER long to put up. They usually take between 10 and 30 minutes to do...30 being if there are lots of pics to upload. Bob the Builder is WAY over, so I need to SCOOT.

Alphabitty Moments

Please join Alphabitty moments and record those little moments in life that sometimes go unnoticed, and might be forgotten. Or, use moments that you will never forget but want to share with others anyway! Go to http://www.4loveoffamily.blogspot.com/ to join in!

I didn't post last week, but here it is!

And this week's too!

Thanks Babies R Us

I read on a couple of blogs lately that Babies R Us was exchanging old Avent baby bottles that were not BPA free for the new ones that are. So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter had a post about it a few days ago and I remember thinking "man, if we were using bottles I'd have to check that out". But, I had vowed off bottles so I really didn't think much about it. Well, in the light of our new situation it was back to basics bottles. I had two glass bottles that we have used for Baby J because of the BPA stuff. We hadn't used them since before Christmas...and within 24 hours we knew two bottles wasn't going to cut it. After taking glass bottles with us yesterday I also realized that it was impractical because if they are dropped they will shatter.

I got on the phone and first called Toys R Us that is near here. This is not my favorite store and I don't go there unless I have to. I'm not sure how it has stayed open as long as it has. The gentleman I spoke with assured me that Toys R Us never did exchanges for things that didn't have a recall and not to bother calling the Babies R Us in Dayton either because they wouldn't consider doing an exchange either. Well, I am easily thrown off course, so I waited about 25 seconds and called Babies R Us.
Right away I was on the phone with a chipper young woman who informed me that not only could I do the exchange, I also wouldn't need any sort of receipt. I would not be getting a direct exchange as the new BPA free bottles are almost twice the price of the old ones, but that they would be happy to help me in any way they could. I was glad about the receipt because most of the bottles I received were from baby showers.
I had to sort through my conglomeration of bottles and pieces. I chose three 4oz and three 9oz bottles to take in. I took the remaining 10 bottles (what? I had 16 bottles??? Uh, yeah, and another one at my mom's house...Snug was in daycare so we had them divided between two houses) and put them in a bag to take to Once Upon A Child. They gave me $1.01/bottle. That gave me $10.10 towards the difference in my exchange. I was pretty excited!
The new bottles have a honey tinge to them, evidently the BPA is what was used to make the bottles super clear. I really am ok with the tinge because our dishwasher has a tendency to make things a little cloudy anyway. This has gotten MUCH better since we started using Melaleuca products, but there is still quite a bit of calcium in our water.

I don't have these super-cute sippy cups, I guess they have gotten an upgrade since Snug. Mine are very similar, just no little animals...and mine have handles too. I took them to Babies R Us with the bottles, but they told me they are made from polypropylene and contained no BPA. From what I can tell they are safe...if anyone knows any different, please let me know!

I would like to thank Babies R Us because this is not an Avent recall, they still say their bottles that contain BPA are safe and will not recall them (it is interesting though that 90% of their products are now BPA free and have LARGE stickers on the boxes stating as much). This is just Babies R Us/Toys R Us doing it for their customers. It is a store by store decision. Thanks guys!

*Here was a funny thing that happened while I was checking out at Babies R Us. The lady wanted to know if I wanted a Babies R Us credit card, and I told her I in fact did not. She kinda tried to ask me why and I told her that we do not use credit cards (Financial Peace University). Then she offered me some sort of store loyalty card. She explained that after I bought either 8 or 9 boxes of disposable diapers, I could get the next box free. I respectfully declined and told her I used cloth diapers. Blank stare...then "your total is....". I think she thought I was kidding.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I just got back from my parent's house in Michigan, it was such a nice weekend, as always. Here are some of the things I did not do this week.

I did not feed Baby J dishsoap this week for dinner. He did not cry very hard and blow pearly rainbow colors out of his mouth. Oh I felt so terrible. I had defrosted and warmed some sweet potatoes for his supper in a small glass bowl. After I fed him I put the bowl in the sink and helped #1 get dinner for the rest of us on the table. Baby J was howling and I thought maybe he was still hungry so I grabbed the bowl back out of the sink (no one had set anything dirty on it) stuck some summer squash in it and threw it quick in the microwave. It had a funny consistency to it, but it didn't look bad, just a little thin. As I fed it to him he started to cry very hard. I checked the temperature and it was fine. He didn't want the squash at all-I gave him about 10 spoonfuls. Then as he began to cry really hard I noticed the bubbles he was producing. I quick smelled the bowl and it was very lemon fresh. Apparently I had put a squirt of dishsoap into the bowl when I put it in the sink. I do NOT remember doing that, but apparently I did. Of course it wasn't the Melaleuca soap that would have been perfectly harmless, it was what was left of the regular kind we used to use. Of course it says "do not ingest, if ingested drink plenty of water and call physician immediately". We gave him lots of water, but he calmed down and seems ok...no Dr. visit this time.

I did not leave my cell phone charger at my parent's house...the only one we have for both cell phones. That would not happen to me because I am so organized. Ha. (ok we have a car charger, but it doesn't work very well)

I'm sure I did more dumb things this week, but for now this is all I will admit. Happy Monday everyone!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Wow...I twittered about taking stupid pills this week and I really think I did. Here is my not-so-short-list of things of course I did not do. Too bad I can't blame it on baby brain anymore.

I did not drink pop this week...twice. Oh how I wish I could give it up completely...it is seriously my vice.

I did not make a quadruple recipe of Draycare pancakes (scroll WAY down if you click that link to find the recipe) for 6 people-that would be enough pancakes for about 15 people. I was trying to double the recipe...ran out of room in my bowl so I split it up and continued to add ingredients...only I kept making a double recipe in both bowls.

My son did not wear a tiny blue turtle barrette to playgroup on Friday. In all fairness, he traded it with another girl and let her hold his precious blue bear...but still...

I did not at the same playgroup grab another person's daughter, plop her in my lap, and proceed to put E's socks on her. Her mother took it very well being a friend of mine, but wow, I was glad it was someone I knew!

Along the same child predator lines, I did not kiss a total stranger's baby I was holding at a Pampered Chef party over the weekend right in front of her. I think it is just a habit, I pick up small children all day long and kiss their little heads. Oh dear. (I did have her permission to be holding, just not smooching)

I did not drop Baby J out of the stroller and onto the floor. HE IS FINE NO PANICKING (because I know my mom and my Aunt Kim just had mini heart-attacks). He was securely fastened into his car seat which got tangled in a blanket and tipped off the stroller. He didn't cry, complain or anything. He just looked at me like "You're gonna blog this, huh?". I felt horrible.

I did not put Snug's blue kid toothpaste on my toothbrush and then try to brush his teeth with it. I did not then decide not to waste perfectly good toothpaste and use it myself. I must say it doesn't leave that minty fresh feeling I enjoy from Melaleuca.

I did not put an Imse Vimse liner into Snug's underwear at a basketball game because it was in double overtime with 45 seconds left and the game was tied. He said he needed to have a BM and I didn't want to clean that out of his pants. Nor did I want to miss the end of the game/walk in front of a ton of highly stressed parents watching their girls in districts! I had JUST taken him to the bathroom between overtimes and I was pretty sure he was just tired of watching the game. I was right, when we went to the bathroom less than 2 minutes later, he just laughed and said he was "all done" before we even got into the stall. They won by the way...go Warriors :o)

Advertisement

Today I am advertising! Not Me Monday will be up later (nighttime)...but right now I want to do some advertising. This being my blog I will go ahead and do so. I hope you check some of these FREE* things out :o)
*Use your local library to get books before you decide to buy...ok so this is semi-free




First up today is serious.life MAGAZINE. I have Abby's button on the side of my blog as a reminder to pray for her and the Rigg's family. February's issue comes out today (if you are reading Monday...tomorrow if you are reading Sunday), and I hope you click over and read it. You can click on the "pray for Abby" button and then once on their site click on the magazine. It is free to read! It is worth your time!!!!
serious.life is a great read. I just finished up December's issue. I love that it is paperless (yeah environment!), chocked full of scriptures, and December had many articles that I was interested in. I loved the article on 100% down, not taking 'low monthly payment' routes, of course that goes right with Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University! I also was interested in the article about parabens, one of the reasons we switched to Melaleuca. This magazine has a big emphasis on adoption (since their own family has adopted several children) and ministry. Check them out!
http://www.seriouslifemagazine.com/

My next advertisement is for Jellytelly. Jellytelly is a super kid-oriented, scripture based online show. We love it because it incorporates learning about the Bible (right now specific books in the old testament and how they came to be) along with humor and skits. Snug loves it because all the voices are the same as "Bob N Narry" (aka Veggie Tales), it has puppets, and music videos. You can watch it anytime of the day, and it only lasts 30 minutes. Weekends sport a family movie (more than 30 min.) that can be viewed anytime on Saturday or Sunday. Check them out! http://www.jellytelly.com/


My last advertisement of the day is "bringing up BOYS" by Dr. James Dobson.
I am so excited to have other people read it, and #1 is going to start it (hopefully) tonight at work...running traffic post will be boring seems how everyone else will be at Super Bowl parties. If you have a boy, a grandson, or are a teacher, PLEASE read this. Get it from your library if you want to see if it is for you (it is) and then go ahead and get yourself a copy if/when you love it. Get it on Amazon used for cheaper if you want!

About Me

I got this idea from Carrie at 4loveoffamily a blog I am quickly becoming a big fan of. They live in a campground for pity's sake. How fun is that?
Anyway, she wrote that it is kinda hard to really describe yourself in an "About Me" section at the top of your blog. I thought I'd try to give some more specifics on mine...a little different route than she took, but still an interesting thing. I mean, who AM I?

I am a born again believerI became a Christian when I was 11, but try to be more like Him daily...I am very far off mark, trustme., avid blog reader I posted about this in December 2008...I read several people's, and even read one from the beginning like you would a novel,cloth diaper user try it, I love it! , chemical-free cleaner maker Ok, truly I am so new in this I can't even make it a true claim to fame, but I do use mostly Melaleuca brand cleaners which are safe and enviro friendly, daycare (Draycare) provider by far my toughest challenge, children's literature lover you should see my bookshelves...floor to ceiling on both sides of our fireplace plus books in the playroom plus books in storage...,healthy food burner (on accident I assure you)my mom and mother-in-law are such good cooks...I feel bad for my poor husbnand, homemade baby food maker my favorite book is "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron, mommy of 2. I call my two boys Snug and Baby J and my wonderful husband #1 to protect their identities. Welcome to my blog! And thanks fror reading!

Who is Who?

Do you know this baby? Is it Baby J or Snug?

Is this baby Baby J or Snug?

This is Baby J...and so so cute too!

Oooo, so happy. Here is my comparison picture. On the right is a glass that was washed many many many times in our dishwasher with regular dishwasher detergent. Our glasses and most of all our dishes look awful these days. We bought the Melaleuca dishwasher detergent and after like two washes here is the result, on the left. Yeah!!!!


Anyone know of a good potty training camp? Seriously?

Yucky Feet Cake

Big J is talking more and more. He says some funny stuff. I was making birthday cupcakes for Little M(turned 3). I try to keep the Draycare kids out of the kitchen when I am making lunch, but other than that I let them see what I'm doing/and or help. Let me set up the scenario...I'm elbow deep in cake batter with 4 small children running around the house. Big J wanders in (I actually recorded the conversation right after because I was laughing so hard). "Momma, what doing?"
Me: "Making cupcakes".
Big J: Cake? Oh. (James likes to say things kinda question like and then say 'oh')
Me: I just keep working
Big J: "Ewwww. Yucky Feet Cake!
Me: I just look at him really puzzled...did he really say "yucky feet cake"?
Little M: No! No yucky! My burfday cake
Big J: No Mine! *fight insues

It is never dull here let me tell you.

Baby J was 4 months old yesterday. Of course I was on top of things and did not wait until 10pm to take his 4 month picture. Props to MckMomma for Not Me Monday...speaking of MckMomma, please be praying. Tomorrow morning she goes in to have baby #4 who has an enlarged heart and other health problems...a true miracle baby, but aren't they all?



Thanks so much to Aunt D for these supercute matching sweatsuits for the boys. They were warm and snuggly in our cold cold weather today.

Here is Little M blowing out the candle on his yucky feet cake. I made mini cupcakes to limit the ammount of sugar the kids were getting. I try to limit the ammount of fats and sugars the kids get. I push the fruits and veggies instead.

Soooo, I'm trying to go green and get out of debt...trying to do both can seem counterproductive. Organic and green products tend to be pricier than others. I am looking into Melaleuca products as I type. I'm on some kind of conference sales call and I am not blogging at the same time :o)

I am also going to give cloth diapers a try. My mom is going to let me use Uncle Alligator and my old cloths. Anyone have any suggestions to make this work? Both of these things, Melaleuca and cloth diapers claim to save money AND are green. (Well, the diapers will be a bit yellow and maybe brown, but those are earthy colors, right?)

Get your Omega 3 Fatty Acids...give me all the feedback you can...share my blog if you feel someone would like to know what we are doing around here.