Beating the Winter Blues with an Impromptu (Birthday) Celebration

I've lived in the Chicago area all my life and I've always hated the winters here. I hate being cold. I really do. I pretty much try to spend as little time outside as possible in the winter. My winter hibernation was never really much of a problem until I found myself at home with 2 little kids. Being inside in the same environment day after day with the same toys, activities, and people leads to bored and restless children. I try break up our time at home with trips to Grandma's, running errands, and play dates. Sometimes we play for a while at the library and then bring home books, movies and music. But some days are just stay-at-home days, and for those days, I am always on the lookout for interesting indoor activities to keep my 2 1/2 year old occupied.

Yesterday was one such day. I nanny a 2 1/2 year old boy a few days a week, and this particular week he was scheduled to come over 4 days in a row. In a row. So far he has loved coming over and hasn't showed the slightest signs of boredom at our house, but after being here 4 days in a row, I knew I needed to plan to prevent it.

My first step was to get a carseat so we could get out of the house (today we're going to the library). But taking kids out is a hassle, especially in the cold when you have to buckle them all in their carseats and navigate them through the parking lot, keep them from loading up the grocery cart with goldfish crackers or taking every book off the shelf at the library!

So, I knew I needed to think of some fresh activities for home to break up the time we did spend there. After a little conversation with my daughter, I had a plan!

Our family has a lot of birthdays in February, so my daughter kind of has birthdays on the mind. At one point, as we talked, she told me that it was her B's birthday (Her B is her special blanket, you know, the one that she can't go to sleep without). What a silly girl! But I guess she has a silly Mama too, because later that day the "big" kids and I threw a little Birthday Party for B.

First, Cadence and I made a birthday cake. Cadence requested a Frosty the Snowman cake, so we made him a head and a body (2 layers each).

A few hours later, when Phoenix came over, we decorated Frosty. Ok, I'll be honest, I didn't let the kids touch it for a while. You just can't kill those perfectionist impulses--even for a silly birthday cake for a blanket! I frosted the cake and used candies we had around the house to decorate him. M&M eyes, a strawberry nose, tootsie roll arms, and broken up pieces of chocolate for the mouth and buttons. 

Since the kids were the whole reason we were making this cake, I thought I should let go of control and let them have fun decorating it. I got the sprinkles and they were thrilled to shake, shake, shake those little sparkles all over Frosty. So cute.

Here are the kiddos with their cake and Cadence holding the guest of honor, her B. They were so proud of their work and that made them even more excited to eat the cake!

We sang Happy Birthday to B and then Phoenix and Cadence blew out his candles. Actually, Phoenix was so excited that he blew out the candles before we even started singing so I had to light them a second time!

After we ate our cake, each of the big kids got to help B open a gift. Earlier (I forget to get a photo of this), I gave each of the kids a box and had them find a gift they'd like to give B. Then, trying to stifle my perfectionism, I worked with them to wrap the gifts in some super cool Sesame Street wrapping paper. 

This process took a while. Phoenix spent about five minutes just running around the house with his newfound Sesame Street sword. Even after that, it took a while for the kids to focus on the task. They kept getting distracted and playing with the toys instead of looking for one to give as a gift. Once we were using the tape to wrap the gifts, though, I had their full attention. I think Cadence and Phoenix could have easily each used a whole roll of tape on those presents. 

All in all, everyone had a lot of fun. Having spent a couple hours engaged in structured activities, the big kids were content to play on their own for a good hour when it came time for me to make dinner. Not only that, but they were both very excited to tell their daddies all about the cake they made, the gifts they wrapped, and the candles they blew out!

Homemade Baby Food--It's Easier Than You Think!

My little guy Isaac is 8 months old now, so I've gotten back into the practice of making homemade baby food. I do it partially because its so much cheaper, but also because I know it's healthier. Honestly, though, I don't think either of those reasons would be enough if it weren't so incredibly easy to do!

Store-bought baby food can cost upwards of $0.30 per ounce, depending on exactly what you buy (brand, store, organic, etc.). I read somewhere that, ounce for ounce, it is the most expensive food you'll ever buy. However, if you make it yourself, you can easily save as much as 75%, depending on the cost of your ingredients. Here, I'll show you how to make vegetables that came out to about $0.08 per ounce. Now that's what I'm talking about! 

As far as being healthier, it's as simple as this--when I'm the one making the baby food, I get to choose exactly what goes in it. Store-bought baby foods often contain added sugars and salt or modified food starches that are used as fillers & thickeners.  When I make the food myself, I can skip the salt and sugar, use whole grains, and even use steamed organic veggies if I want to!

I love that I can use quality ingredients to make my baby's food healthier and tastier than store-bought options. Seriously, have you ever tasted baby food? Not a lot of flavor in there. I remember when I was about to start Cadence (my first baby) on solids, her pediatrician told me that baby's tastes buds are fully developed. "If you think it tastes bad, she probably will too," she told me. That knowledge, combined with my determination to raise well-rounded eaters, emboldened me to experiment with cooking for my baby. She often ate the exact same thing as the rest of the family--just pureed.  I've pureed spaghetti, soups, smoothie, chicken with rice & veggies, chili, risotto, and a variety of vegetables, and fed it all to my babies. 

Today I'm walking you through making some veggie baby food using Green Giant's "Digestive Health" blend of yellow carrots, spinach, and white navy beans in a garlic herb sauce. I bought a couple boxes of these for our family to try and they weren't a big hit...so I thought I'd give them a try with Isaac instead of just throwing them away. Lucky boy, I know!

Prepare vegetables as usual. Really, you can make them however you would when serving them to your non-baby family members. The Green Giant blend is steam-in-the-bag preparation. Easy as that!

Next, put your veggies in your food processor (or blender) and puree.

Puree it for 10 or 20 seconds and then check its consistency. 

Add water, one tablespoon at a time, until you've reached your desired consistency. I like it thick enough that it doesn't run off a level spoon, but not so thick that it will stick to a spoon held sideways. It's really up to you (ok, and your baby)!

Continue to puree the food until you've reached your desired texture. The longer you puree it, the smoother it will become. When your baby is just starting on solids, you'll want the food to be as smooth as possible. You can slowly introduce more texture in the food as time goes on.

Now the food is ready to eat. You can serve it immediately, refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze to use as needed. For convenient freezer storage, spoon the pureed mixture into ice cube trays and freeze through. 

To store, remove frozen cubes from tray and place in a labeled freezer bag. 

To serve, grab a cube or two and warm in the microwave. 

It's as easy as that!