Bluum Box November 2013 Toddler - 17 months




I was super excited to get my Bluum box last night. I got the November 2013 box for a 17 month old Toddler. This is what I got:

1. Melissa and Doug Rainbow Stacking Toy: My daughter loves it. She played with it for a while. Still needs to get the hang of putting the top ball on but she will get it.

2. Baby Legs: They are one size fits most. To me they seem a bit small and don't have a lot of stretch. I wish they were more girly. I don't like the color combination too much.

3. Baby Touch and Feel Puppy Love Book: This was another thumbs up for my daughter. She loves books. The extra feel and touch textures were also fun for her.

4. Happy Family Happy Yogis Banana Mango: My daughter loves these. She loves tropical fruit so it was a super plus for her.

5. Happy Family Happy Yogis Strawberry: Same as above but in a nice sweet strawberry flavor.

6. Dream Baby Stroller Clips: I like that they are smaller than the typical mommy hook. It would be easy for me to store in my bag instead of leaving them on the stroller and taking up handle bar space.



My daughter and I were pretty happy with this months box. I look forward to getting my boxes every month. You usually get something from a company that is not too well known, so it's fun to discover new companies. If you are interested in subscribing you can click on my link below to get 50% off your first box. I would also get points to get a free Bluum box.

Breakfast in a Cupcake #Toddler Friendly #Recipe



Ever since I started solids with my toddler about a year ago I had a hard time getting her to eat eggs. I made them every way possible and she still spit them out. I even hid them in her other foods and she would still spit them out. I kind of lost hope until I saw a recipe for a breakfast casserole. I set out to make it toddler friendly and too make it cute in a cupcake form. To my surprise she loved it! Here is how I did it:


Breakfast in a Cupcake

Yield: 6-8 cupcakes
Ingredients
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4 slices boars head ham
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
Cooking Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crack eggs into a bowl and whip.
  2. Cut ham slices into 1/2 inch squares and add to eggs.
  3. Add remaining ingredients into the bowl and mix until well combined.
  4. Take aluminum foil and cover a baking sheet. (For easy cleanup)
  5. Spray silicone cupcake cups with cooking spray. (You can use a regular cupcake tin but make sure you spray them really good. Eggs tend to really stick when they are baked.)
  6. Spoon egg mixture into the cups until they are full to the top.
  7. Bake for about 30 minutes. Insert a knife in the middle of one to make sure eggs are fully set. If not pop it back into the oven for another 5 minutes and check again.
What are your tips to getting your little one to eat eggs?        

DIY Flash Cards for Toddlers and Printable

 
My daughter loves books and loves pointing to things on the books. She has a board book with a whole bunch of circles. Yesterday she pointed to a circle said "what is it?" then said "circle!". She learned that from the Sparkabilities app that she has been looking at since she was a few months old. I was pretty proud that she recognized the circle without me pointing it out. I took out the flash cards I had purchased for her and saw if she could recognize anything else. She just took them all out of the box and put them back in until she got bored of them and threw them on the floor. She wasn't interested in looking at them at all. I think the reason why is that they were too busy. Too many colors and characters on them. I set out to make some simple flash cards with just a shape or color and one word in black and white. She loved them! She automatically recognized the circle and diamond. We are now working on the colors and other shapes and she seems super interested.

If you just want to print the ones I made you can save the .PDF file below onto your computer. Click on the link, Download, then Direct Download. Save onto your computer where you can easily find it. Then Open the file, press File.. Print and pick the Fit option.

Click here to download Flash Card .PDF

How to make them:
I made them using my favorite software Paint Shop Pro 9 (yes I know it is super old but I love it!) I made a new image that was 8 x 11. Then added black lines to separate the image into 12 boxes. In each box I added a shape or a square of color. I then added the word that described each box. Next I converted it into a .PDF file and printed it out on 110lb card stock paper. I love card stock because they are a lot more durable than just regular printer paper. I always have it on hand to do tons of other craft projects. Then I just cut out the squares and let my daughter have fun with it for a little bit. After she gets the fun out of playing with the cards you can now start to point and repeat the words.




If anybody is interested in more flash cards I'll be more than happy to make another post with different cards like different colors and shapes. Or anything else you can suggest.

Kabocha Squash and Chicken #DIY Baby Food #Recipe



I first heard about Kabocha squash from an email from Hungry-Girl. It tastes a lot like butternut squash but has a lot less calories. I was roasting some kabocha for myself for dinner so decided to take some and make some baby food for my then 8 month old. I had a hard time getting some protein in her so I decided to add in some roasted chicken breast.



Kabocha and Chicken Baby Food

Ingredients
  • 1/4 of a medium sized kabocha
  • 1 small chicken breast.
  • olive oil
Cooking Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. With a spoon, scoop out all of the seeds and tough fibers from the inside of the kabocha.
  3. Lightly coat a baking pan with olive oil. Place kabocha flesh side down on baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or when a fork pierced in the middle goes though with ease.
  4. Season your chicken to your liking (I just use fresh ground pepper) and place on other baking sheet sprinkled with a tiny bit of olive oil. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until no longer pink. Let rest 10 minutes then slice.
  5. Scoop out kabocha and place in blender/food processor with chicken. Pulse until you get the consistency your baby is used to. If it is too thick, you can add a little bit of purified water. For my toddler I just cut up the kabocha and chicken into bite sized pieces.
**I use my Bella Rocket Blender to make my baby food. It is similar to the magic bullet.

Healthy Chicken Fried Rice for an Infant or Toddler



Since I started to eat healthier it is a lot easier for me to make one meal for the whole family. Chicken fried rice is a staple in our weekly menu. It's healthy and easy to make. This is my favorite recipe for making chicken fried rice. I use brown rice instead of white.


To make it for my toddler I follow the steps until right before adding the soy sauce. I take out about a 1/4 to 1/2 of a cup for my daughter and set it aside. I continue the rest of the recipe for my husband and I. When my daughter was younger and couldn't chew bigger pieces as well I would pulse it in my mini chopper until I saw the consistency of the picture above. Now that my daughter is 17 months old I leave it as it and she really enjoys it. 



Happy Tot Toddler Meal Bowl #Review




I received the Happy Tot Toddler meal in my Bluum box a couple of months ago. When I first saw it in my box I was pretty happy because I love the Happy Baby brand. My daughter loved their pouches and still loves their yogurt bites and puffs. The flavor we got was Organic Chicken Quinoa & Vegetables. I loved that it had quinoa in it because I have read so many good things about it. Also the fact that it is all organic and natural was a super plus.

Though I was happy I got it I kept it to the side for a while because my daughter never liked prepared store food. I have tried other brands like Gerber and Sprout and she really disliked the taste. I was determined to try the Happy Tot to change it up and have her try something new. She took a couple of bites at first and even told me "more" after I took too long to give her another spoon. I was pretty pleased and started to think about my next trip to the market to get her the other flavors. I do enjoy cooking for her but having these on hand for emergencies would be great. Then came the square of "chicken".  She chewed it, made a face and spit it out. I tried again with the same result. After spitting out the pieces of "chicken" she refused to eat any more. I mixed the food around and looked closely at the perfectly square pieces of "chicken". It really didn't look too good and didn't look much like chicken. For such a great company that is all about organic and natural food it was really upsetting to see that type of "chicken" in it. Looking more into it, it was pretty mushy. If you have something labeled for a toddler I think it should have been chunkier.

Overall my 17 month old gives it two thumbs down. Oh well, off to make some more http://nurturebaby.com/ recipes to freeze.

Secret Outlast Clear Gel Review

 



I was lucky to receive a free full size Secret Outlast Clear Gel Deodorant in my Spring VoxBox from Influenster. At first I have to admit I wasn't too thrilled with a gel deodorant. I have been using spray deodorants for a whole now. Though I hate the sometimes white resident left on my shirts I still like how easy it is to put on and how it smells. I decided to put away my spray deodorant and try the Secret Outlast Clear Gel for at least a week. I have to say its been well over a week and I'm still using the Secret Outlast Clear Gel. It goes on easy and feels pretty good. I love that I don't have to wait for it to dry. I also love how my dark blue Yankee shirts never have any white residue on them. I definitely recommend using this deodorant if you hate that white residue stuck on your clothes from deodorants.

Ivory Refreshing 2-In-1 Hair & Body Wash Review


I was one of the lucky ones to try the Ivory Refreshing 2-In-1 Hair & Body Wash for free from Influenster. I was surprised when I received the product because I didn't think it would be that big. I got a 24 ounce bottle and a few coupons. 

I have been using the  body wash for a few weeks now. The first thing I noticed was the scent. It smells really good and refreshing. It's not fruity or too girly so my husband likes it too. I do love how it left my skin feeling and smelling. It didn't work to well on my hair though. Since I have long and thick hair it didn't leave my hair as clean and moisturized as my regular shampoo and conditioner does. My husband did like the product for both his body and hair. He no longer uses his shampoo or steals mine because he uses the Ivory 2-In-1.

Overall we love the product. I will continue to buy it and use it on my body and my husband will continue to us it on both body and hair.

Protein and More Protein Thanks to Chobani

 


When the whole Greek yogurt craze started a few years ago I quickly joined in. I always loved yogurt and was so curious about this new yogurt. I tried it and liked it but only bought it when I could find a good sale. Why buy the Greek kind if I could get the regular kind for less than a dollar? The answer is Protein! Greek yogurt has so much more protein than the regular kind. I never really was one to load up on Protein. I know now how full it keeps you. Since eating my Greek yogurt I always feel full after snack time. I can eat my Chobani for snack and feel satisfied until my next meal. In my opinion Chobani is the best tasting and creamiest yogurt. Best thing is a I got a case of it at Costco where each yogurt comes out to less than a dollar!

What is your favorite kind of Greek yogurt?

3 weeks in.

It has been three weeks since I started on this weight loss journey. I have been eating smartly. I stopped all high calorie drinks including my beloved Coca-Cola. Instead I drink lots of water, sugar free tea and diet soda. My favorite right now is Sprite Zero. I know drinking sugar free drinks and diet soda is not the healthiest but it is better than the other high calorie drinks I was drinking.

I am cooking almost all of my meals. It feels good to be eating healthier things like salads and baked chicken. I was eating so much fast food before that I was getting bored of everything. On the occasion that I did eat out, I ate grilled chicken wraps, salad and diet soda. 

Progress: So far I have lost 9 pounds. 

Need to improve: Exercising! I have only exercised twice in the three weeks. Being a FTM I can't seem to schedule a specific time to do the exercise. Something always seems to come up. I have been walking a lot more but still need to schedule in some exercise.

As a mom how do you find the time to exercise?

The Journey Begins (Again)...

Today is the day I begin this weight loss journey yet again. I can not count the times I have tried to lose weight and keep it off. I have lost a ton of weight only to gain it back. This time is different though. This time I not only do it for myself I do it for my daughter too.

I lost over 80 pounds to just get the ok to have my baby. Wanting her was the motivation I needed to keep going. Once I found out I was pregnant I was so happy and enjoying my pregnancy that I gave in to all of my cravings and let my family and husband indulge me with anything I wanted. I gained back the 80 and then some.

I vowed after giving birth that I would lose the weight for her. Months and months passed and my baby is now 10 months old. We just got the ok from her pediatrician to start her on meats and basically whatever we eat for dinner. So far I have only been giving her the jarred versions of fruits and veggies. I don't like the smell of the prepared baby foods that include meat. This is the push I need to eat better. I want to set good eating habits for her. I will be attempting to make some of her baby food by giving her what we eat for dinner.

I know this is going to be hard. It is going to be even harder with a baby as a first time mom. But I know that I will push on not just for me but for her too.

I decided to write this blog to hold me accountable. I want to use this blog to also share tips, exercises, healthy recipes and reviews on products for women, weight loss, exercise, baby and toddlers.

If you are a parent how do you do it with a baby, toddler or kid? What tips do you have to squeeze in healthy meals and exercise time?