{Sensory Toys}

I’ve been holding onto a couple of old wipes containers for a while now. (We use Costco’s wipes now, and they just come in bags rather than plastic containers.) I’ve been wanting to transform them into something for the kids to play with, but wasn’t exactly sure what yet. I finally used one of them today.

Of course, the original idea came to me via Pinterest (go figure!). You can find my original pin here. They have several different ideas for old wipes containers. (I’m currently saving up milk caps for the image on the pin!) In the original post, they used a Kleenex box for the fabric one, but my kids LOVE opening and closing things, and it was an added bonus of using the wipes container. Plus I had several of them on hand, and they wouldn’t get destroyed by my children; they are still in the ‘everything must go in my mouth’ phase. It definitely makes for a cheap toy!

In any case, it was very easy to do. I had a bunch of old fabric left over from the monster panels I made for their nursery (see the post on those here!) and I am not a sewer by any means. I cut up some scraps. I decided to make them fairly similar in size. They aren’t all the same, and they definitely aren’t straight edges. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It will also be good for when they are slightly older for counting and colors. I put different numbers of each color in, so you can make games like pulling out all the yellow squares or how many brown squares are there? You could cut the fabric in shapes and do things with that as well.

For the box, as I mentioned before, it’s simply an old wipes container. I’ve heard about people mod podging them and decorating them, but the box I had was purchased with a pattern on it, so I left it.

Once the scraps were cut, I simply put the fabric in the box and it was done.

Cora took to it right away; she loved it! Grant took some convincing, but he finally came around and is starting to play with it a bit, too. (Though it was after the camera was put away.) His favorite part, of course, is the lid.

{Spicy Combinations}

Anyone that knows me knows that I can’t stand bland food. I also love to play around with recipes and make them my own – sometimes even before I know what the original recipe tastes like! Because of this, I’m a firm believer that, since my kids are human, too, why should they have to suffer through the blandness just because they don’t have teeth!?

Some of you have asked, so here are my secrets, all laid out for you in one nice, cozy little post for you to keep in your back pocket of tricks to pull out. Okay, so really this one is just about one secret: SPICE. Not like chili pepper hot spice, but flavor spice.

These are some of the spice combos that I’ve tried. I taste tested all of these combos before giving them to the kids. If I find it completely disgusting, why should they have to eat it, right? If you’re looking to add a little adventure into their meals, try some of these out.

Vegetables:

1. Sweet Potato – cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, oregano, all spice, onion or onion powder, cumin (I’ve heard that vanilla goes really well with a lot of these, too, but haven’t tried it yet. If you do, make sure you get real PURE vanilla or ground vanilla beans. Vanilla extract has alcohol in it.)
2. Pumpkin – cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, all spice, ground cloves, vanilla
3. Green Beans – garlic (I use either pre-minced garlic from the jar or garlic powder. Don’t use garlic salt or it will be too salty!), onion or onion powder, cumin (again, make sure it’s powder and not salt! The powder versions of these are simply a dehydrated version of the ingredient.)
4. White Potatoes – garlic, onion, dill, rosemary (I use a mortar and pestle to grind it up a bit more if needed), anise
5. Butternut Squash (or any winter squash) – nutmeg, garlic, ground cloves, onion or onion powder, rosemary

Fruits:

1. Apples – cinnamon, vanilla
2. Bananas – ginger, lemon zest, cinnamon
3. Pears – ginger, vanilla, mint
4. Peaches – vanilla
5. Mangoes – vanilla, cinnamon
6. Blueberries – mint, vanilla

Grains:

1. Oatmeal – cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla
2. Pasta – oregano, parsley, basil, onion

Meats:

1. Chicken – parsley, basil, oregano, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, garlic, lemon zest, sage, thyme, rosemary
2. Turkey – basil, parsley, thyme, garlic, sage, rosemary
3. Beef – onion, garlic, coriander, sage, thyme

Don’t feel like you need to keep it to single ingredient & a spice, either. Have fun with it. Play around. See what your baby likes! Here are a couple of my kids’ favorite combos. Try them out, or make some of your own!

Creamy Butternut Squash
butternut squash
greek yogurt
nutmeg

Baby Thanksgiving
sweet potato
green bean
turkey (optional)
cinnamon or onion/onion powder

Banana Pudding Cereal
cream of wheat
greek yogurt
banana
cinnamon

Baby Pumpkin Pie
pumpkin
greek yogurt
pumpkin pie spice

Sweet Green Beans
green beans
pears
ginger

{lessons from a children’s book}

It amazes me how God works sometimes. He knows just what to do, when to do it, and how to reach you. I kind of felt like that today.

Let me start out by saying that this morning was less than spectacular. Our normal morning routine goes like this: wake kids up; play; eat breakfast; get dressed; play; take nap. The kids were in a good mood, but getting into everything before breakfast; I had one that refused to even eat breakfast. Immediately after getting dressed, I found (not in a good way, mind you) that I now had to clean up the biggest blow out in a long time. Let me rephrase that: It was the FIRST blow out I’ve seen in a long time. I had to keep the second child from wanting to see what I was doing by being in the process.

Needless to say, I was frustrated, irritable, and less than happy. Mid-cleanup, I realized that I hadn’t prayed when I woke up this morning. No wonder my day was off to a rocky start! I forgot patience, hope, strength; my spiritual cup of coffee. I shot a quick prayer up – which looked something like “Wow, God. I’m screwing up already today. I’m going to need more help than normal.”

After a couple of extra kisses and hugs for the kids and telling them I was sorry for getting irritated, we decided to read a book. My mom had sent a couple of books to the kids for Easter, one that we hadn’t read until this morning. The Donkey That No One Could Ride by Anthony DeStefano. A wonderful book; written all in rhyme and fun to read. It’s about the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. However, there is a part that I’m pretty sure God put in there for me to hear this morning. It goes something like this:

My help is enough;
It’s all that you need.
It’s all you require in life to succeed.
The weaker you are,
The more strength I give.
I’ll be there to help you
As long as you live.
I know you feel tired and frightened and broken,
But do you believe
These word that I’ve spoken?
Do you believe – I ask you again.
Do you have faith
I can heal you, my friend?

We played some more, and the kids went down for naps. And suddenly, my day got a little brighter. Not because the kids are sleeping – although the break is nice where I can enjoy some real coffee. But because I remember that no matter how many times I fail, God will still pick me up.

{days of growing}

You always hear people say, “They’re growing up so fast!” I never realized exactly what that meant until I had my own kids.

Sure, those babies are growing fast – they’re babies. They pretty much double their size in the first month or two of life. I’ve noticed other peoples’ kids. “Wow! You’re almost twice the size you were when I saw you last month!” But when you watch it everyday, gradually, you don’t notice the physical changes quite as much. Oh, you do. Especially when you pick them up. But it seems to be a much more gradual process.

What I notice is the developmental side of things. Every single day my kids are learning something new. Interested in something new. Discovering something new. Every day is new. It’s really fun to wat

ch the world through their eyes. Yesterday, on our walk home from the library, they got to see their first ambulance – lights, sirens and all. They were so mesmerized. Both were craning their necks around the stroller to see it as it past by. I wouldn’t have given it a second glance. But it was a completely new sight, sound, excitement.

Three months ago, my kids were just blobs. If I set them down, they would stay exactly where I put them. They couldn’t even sit up on their own yet. Today, Cora is crawling with a lot of speed and precision. She’s pulling herself up on everything, and if she holds onto your fingers, is learning to walk! I’m sure she’ll be there before she’s even one. Grant, though he doesn’t crawl, is also very mobile. He’s master what I call ‘directional rolling.’ He’s figured out how to turn himself a specific way in order to get exactly where he wants to go.

We’ve starting signing with them, too. And even though they haven’t started signing back yet, they know what the sign for milk means.

Life with babies is crazy, chaotic and a load of fun. I’m so glad that I get to share in these moments with them, be with them to experience so many firsts. I’m so glad that technology is what is it now. I get to document so much more of their childhood than I ever saw of mine. I’m excited for them to be able to see it all when they are older. What a gift.

{one of those days}

It’s been one of those days…

The kind where you wake up, but really don’t want to get out of bed.

The kind when you wake up with a headache, and it throws the whole day off.

When you get bad news, but cannot do anything to help the situation.

Where you decide to nap when the kids are instead of being productive.

The kind of day when a cup of coffee and a child’s laughter end up being the best medicine.

The kind where just a small ray of sun peeks out through the grey clouds.

Where the rain keeps you indoors, but actually makes you appreciate your home.

When a child’s happy screams make you smile instead of frown.

Where you can sense God in everything.

Ever had one of those days? A small simple prayer of joy just turned my entire day around. I had a great bible study yesterday, met some amazing new women and ended up getting the best advice: take every extra minute you have and be joyful and thank God – or just ask him for help; ask for patience, calmness, serenity.

I did just that this morning. I woke up feeling sick, tired, discouraged. I putzed around after the kids went down for their first nap, decided to nap myself, and woke up feeling even less productive than I was. I decided, while I was washing dishes, to shoot up a small prayer to God. Next thing I know, I see Him in everything; the kids are laughing; the sun peeks through the clouds; the coffee is delicious(!); my house is cozy and comfortable amidst the rain; my life is blessed. It’s amazing what a small does of God can do.

I knew I needed to be joyful, no matter what. And that’s what I decided to do: be joyful that my life is full right now, in this moment. A verse stuck out to me: “A joyful heart is good medicine.” Proverbs 17:22. It got me through the rest of my day, and I even came out saying I had a great day, despite it not starting off that way.

I love those kind of days.