Got a jones for Trader

My new love is Trader Joe's. I bought a dozen nested eggs with no growth hormones, etc for $1.99, green curry Thai sauce in a jar for $2.99, bag of frozen chicken and veggie stir fry with no MSG for $4.99. Trader Joe's brands their own products and those seem to be the best deals, not always organic, but always unique, tasty, and no crazy additives. The girls love going there because there's always food samples, stickers from the cashier and it's really kid friendly.

Stroller Sleepin'

My 14 month old takes her day naps best while moving. Yesterday we had a nice 70 degree day so as she rubbed her eyes and whined, I packed her up in her pink stroller and took a slow mile long walk. 5 minutes in, she was fast asleep. Sometimes we do the car ride naps but with the price of gas, this has become an unreasonable expense. I left her in her sleeping in the stroller for another hour while I ate my lunch.

Digging for grains

Sprouted grains are the new 100% whole wheat. I bought a loaf of 4:9 non-flour bread by Ezekiel. The first week the girls ate it fine as a sandwich - admittedly it is a little bland and harder than the preservative filled loafs we are accustomed to. This week, they protested by eating the insides: turkey and cheese and forgoing the "bread". I am still a believer in sprouted grains as it makes great toast and they usually don't have high fructose corn syrup, sugar, gluten...but I am trying a different brand next time.

Are you hungry?

I have been taking this nutrition class at work that has me changing my whole frame of mind regarding eating. At this point, any changes I make can only make things better. We now eat maple syrup vs lite Ms. Butterworth, Ezkiel sprout bread vs 100% whole wheat, nested organic eggs vs non organic, more fresh veggies like broccoli, cucumbers vs frozen or can veggies and steel cut oats vs rolled oats. As our Nutritionist says, "It's expensive to be healthy and even more to be sick. " Lastly, he likes to remind us to only eat when we are hungry. I am finding that I am really not hungry often...

5 Earthday Kiddie Tips

How can you decrease your kid's carbon footprint?
*Reuse plastic snack bags or put snacks in little plastic bowls with lids
*Use less wipeys since these aren't recyclable.
*Say no to bottled water and opt for tap water - your kids need the fluoride anyways
*If there are no obvious stains on their clothing, fold it and let them wear it one more time.
*Hand me downs are cool & toys from other kids are better - get rid of it!

Bye Bye baba

My little one has been successfully weaned from nursing. I did this by eliminating her least favorite nursling's first and making these changes every 5 days or so until we got down to her most favorite nursing and then I went down to feeding her every other day, then every three days...

Luckily she loves cow's milk but she also loves her bottle and I have heard so many stories about babies and their bottles. Plus when they get attached to the bottle, it's harder to potty train them as they take in more fluid from a bottle. So I have not successfully weaned her from the bottle and I put her milk in a sippy cup...Mommy's tired...I think I need a baba now.

It's raining...let's play outside

I am a cold person. Not my heart, but when I go outside, I need to have long sleeves on, a coat, pants, etc. So when Janae wants to go outside to play and it's raining, I say no. But things have changed since I heard Nancy Blakey speak about taking your kids outside and turning off the TV. Now, I don't know if I will completely turn off the latter but I am increasing the outdoor time ASAP. Nancy suggests creating boxes for dress up, for playing outside, for craft projects. And every time the kids get bored, pull out a box, turn off the TV and make them get creative. It's all about creating unstructured activities. Most importantly, we as parents are creating childhood memories for our children. This is our job and our most vivid memories as adults are playing outdoors. Go Outside!