Small Things Are Big Things

Quite a few people asked about my creative dinners after I posted the pictures of our happy face dinner and Christmas Tree dinner.

  

I regularly create fun formations with the kiddos’ food. I think it’s been key in their awesome food tastes. And the fact that we have a few strict food rules:

#1 We all eat the same thing

#2 You have to try it (as in 3 big bites not a lil’ nibble)

#3 If you don’t eat the meal you won’t get anything else to eat

Did you know it takes about 20 tries before a child may “like” a food? I’m not talking 20 bites, more like 20 knock-down-drag-outs of full meals (or 20 full baby food jars). Another great thing to do is get as many tastes AND textures into those sweet lil’ mouths within the first 2 years. Those first tastes are more important than you’ll ever know. (Check out Dr Alan Greene’s site as well as his book Feeding Baby Green. I’ve chatted with him and he is AMAZING!) 

I thought I would share a few of my other creations!

Dinner…

Pasta w/ cream sauce & veggies, edamame, cucumber and garlic bread.

Spaghetti w/ meatballs, snap peas & cherry tomatoes.

 

Meatloaf (filled with herbs cheese and veggies), veggie stew (onions, tomatoes, celery & squash) and blueberries.

Pork loin, herb red potatoes and green beans.

 

Sometimes I’ll start with a salad appetizer. I’ve noticed they eat their veggies faster if the main part of the meal isn’t on the table.

 

My kiddos will eat salmon, Indian food, and veggies galore. Just make the food fun and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what they try. But be firm. If our kiddos don’t try a new food with 3 big bites (rule #2), the turned away vittles will be waiting for them to eat first at their next meal. About a year ago Cora Jane didn’t want to try some new herb chicken for dinner. It was waiting for her the next morning for breakfast (refrigerated through the night, of course), but she still turned her nose up at it. She was starving by lunch, and you know what? She ate the chicken. And loved it! It’s not like I’m serving liver and onions!

 

For lunch I serve more “kid food.” Mostly because I’m lazy and sandwiches are so darn easy (and inexpensive) to make. I don’t even mind taking requests or making PB & J for one and turkey for another. For me it’s no big deal to make different sandwiches (sometimes). It’s not like I’m having to cook two entirely different meals.

I tend to do faces a lot but just setting the food out in a cute way is also effective for my kiddos. I’ll put explanations on my more abstract creations! Sometimes the sillier a scene looks the more the kiddos are engaged. I love making up stories about the shapes or asking them what they see.

PB & J, cheese slices and oranges. (flower)

PB & J sliced turkey and oranges. (mushroom on orange grass)

 

Turkey melt, goldfish, oranges and cherry tomatoes. (butterfly flying in an orange sky over red and orange flowers)

PB & J, pears and strawberries. (I was just making shapes but Eli thought it was a maze and Cora Jane thought it was a cross)

 

Turkey & cheese sandwich, oranges and mozzarella cheese. (butterfly flying over orange flowers)

Bagel w/ cream cheese, olives and carrots. (House – bagel roof, carrot door and olive windows. This was right after Easter and we had loads of olives to get rid of!)

 

Bagel w/ cream cheese, hot dogs and sliced turkey. (I’m so embarrassed by this lunch but I remember our cupboards were bare and I couldn’t get to the store before lunch/naps. But the face is cute!)

PB & J, cheese slice, strawberries and apples. (abstract art… star?… firework?)

 

PB & J, cucumbers & carrots. (pac man chomping his veggies)

Chicken nuggets, cucumbers and carrots. (sleeping curly haired baby. Note – I had to try to explain who pac man was to the kiddos)

 

Turkey and cheese sandwich, turkey slice, cheese and crackers. (cracker pirate ship with bread sails)

Turkey and cheese sandwich, tomatoes, carrot and cucumbers. (clown)

 

Chicken nuggets, hot dog, cucumber and asparagus. (Dinos marching on grassy hills)

Warning: You will start getting requests!! For pictures not food!!

On this particular day Eli wanted a pirate ship sailing in the ocean to an island with a snowy volcano on a sunny day. (PB & J on rolls = the mountain; cheese slices = snow; tomatoes = ocean; snap pea = pirate ship; circle of cheese = sun)

We REALLY do wear our Lids all the time around here, and of course I’m always snapping pictures. Somehow they just don’t make it to the blog… till now! We’ve added Lid-Tastic Tuesday! Every Tuesday we’ll do a flashback post of pictures I never got to put on the blog.

Flashing back to May 2010… (a short 1.5 months before Cy joined the family)

We popped the kiddos in the wagon and hopped on our bikes for a spring picnic in a local park.

 

I forgot plates so we used the Lids of the containers.

It doesn’t take much to make a simple dinner memorable for your family.

the end

My friend Jen over at Tiny Oranges has put together a team to participate in the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation Run/Walk on May 1^st in Irvine. The run raises money for pediatric cancer! That’s something we can all run with (hehehe)!! I want to join the team but right now I’m just trying to get Hot Hubby on board. There are lots of events to choose from: Half Marathon, 10K run, 5K run or walk, and a 1K kids fun run.  

For ALL the info check our Jen’s post over at Tiny Oranges.

Go here to see all the information about the team!

If you don’t want to run but would like to help out AND if you live near Costa Mesa, you’re in luck! The talented stylist  Tera Rae Stephens from Tek Salon is organizing a big fundraising event on Saturday, February 12th, 2011 called “Love is in the Hair.”   

Here is the info…

Love is in the Hair

Saturday Febuary 12th, 2011

12-6pm

Tek Salon in Costa Mesa

$25 blowouts for GORGEOUS Valentine’s weekend hair. 100% donated to Tera’s personal fundraising page (tax deductible) and the Tiny Oranges’ team effort.

Go here for all the info about booking an appointment with Tera!

Basically a WIN-WIN for all! You get a great professional blowout for your Valentine’s dates for only $25 and it is all tax deductible and goes towards helping families affected by pediatric cancer.

 

AND

One of my bloggy friends, Ashley (from AP Freewriting 101), sent me a link to the most adorable Pirate Valentines! I bought some adorable pirate ones for pennies on last year’s clearance but I can’t find them!! So we might be doing them…

Click here for directions and a free printout of the pirate Valentines. (As well as other fun Valentine freebies!)

Mondays I like to share something I got. We all like to share a good deal, splurge, unique find or fun activity. If you got something awesome (or lame) recently and blogged about it, be sure to leave me a link to the post in the comments!

 

I got Coal Train Railroad CD from the gals at BabySteals! It’s jazz (though since I don’t have a trained ear, it sounds like swing music to me) for kiddos and we love it.

Did I mention it’s ONLY $6.49 (reg 12.99) on BabySteals!??!!??!

I think it would be a perfect lil’ Valentines Day giftie.

You won’t be disappointed.

(Dancing to Coal Train. Eli had to put the CD down to breakdance)

 

 

 

If you are looking for an awesome Valentines Day tee for your lil’ guy look no further than here!
Fan Coal Train Railroad on Facebook.
Follow Coal Train Railroad on Twitter.

If you want to make that kick a&$ bow clipped to Cora Jane’s Lid (I know it’s hard to see) then check out my felt flower tutorial over at OC Family.

It’s with great excitement that I announce the January MOMday Morning winner…

Kyla from The Funky Polkadot Giraffe!!

It’s always fun to give stuff away, but it’s very rare one of my friends wins a giveaway (darn that www.Random.org!!!) so this is just a lil’ extra fun.

Kyla wont $100 cash (via paypal) and a Lid of her choice!!

Thank you to everyone who entered and to this month’s features – BabySteals & According to Kelly.

Since I’m talking (typing) about the awesome Kyla…

Here’s a fun picture of the two of us her annual cookie exchange this year…

I made 8 dozen Carmel Thumbprints from scratch. It was quite a fiasco, I mean I even had to buy a sifter! You know how I usually make cookies, so this was a big deal.

They were delish and I was one of the winners for Fan Favorite and 1st runner up for Prettiest Cookie. How fun is that?!?!?

Check out Kyla’s blog – Funky Polkadot Giraffe, it’s great!

Today’s post is a guest post from my friend Kristen aka The Party Queen…

I bet you are wondering who I am and why am I giving party advice! Here is a little background on me… I married the love of my life 8 years ago and we have 2 precious little girls that I am blessed to be able to stay home with. I have a passion for photography, crafting and all things girly (I mean, can you ever have too much pink?!?). I have always loved going to parties and planning parties. My mom will even attest that I would always begin planning my childhood birthday parties in June and my birthday was not until October!! At this stage of my life planning parties has become my creative outlet since I no longer have time to scrapbook, quilt, knit etc.

I met Kara Noel at Cal State Fullerton over 10 years ago. We met in sorority and I instantly knew she was AMAZING and someone I wanted to have in my life forever. We were in each others weddings and we had our first borns just months apart. In preparation for our little ones’ birthday parties Kara Noel and I went through 16 weeks of cake decorating classes at Michaels! We had a blast! I highly recommend the classes

(Side note from Kara Noel: I was 8 weeks preggers with Cora Jane in this picture and no one knew!! It was so hard not to tell Kristen AND my mom – who was also taking the cake class at the time.)

We all have regrets…well one of my regrets was wasting the cherry theme (I LOVE cherries – aren’t they just cheery?!?) on my daughter’s first birthday party! Knowing all I now know about parties I could have elaborated so much more on this theme. Let’s be honest you only have about 2 years to do the themes you want before your child has an opinion of his/her own! Oh well, it’s in the archives now. I’m still going to be sharing this party with you, even though it was not the greatest party, because #1 I stuck to my cardinal party rules and #2 Everyone starts somewhere. You don’t just wake up one day knowing how to throw a fabulous party. For me a “good” party is only as good as its details. Follow some of these tips and turn your ordinary party into something extraordinary…

Party tip #1:

Send out an ADORABLE Invitation…this is the first impression your guests will have of your party.

I’m not a fan of the Evite craze. I think something is lost. I love it when I get mail (especially when it’s an invitation to an upcoming party)! I put it up on the refrigerator and look forward to the upcoming event. When I get an Evite, I look at it once and then I usually forget about the party until I get the Evite reminder just days before the event.

Invitations don’t have to be expensive. THINK outside the box. The invitation I used for my daughter’s first birthday was actually made from a thank-you note I had received in the mail a few months before her party. I scanned the thank-you note into my computer, Photoshopped out the words that were written on it and then added my own text to the image. My only costs were the ink and the white cardstock I printed them on. Cardstock can be purchased at Michaels or JoAnns. Take advantage of the 40% off coupon they have in the weekly Sunday paper to use on an item such as this. If you don’t receive the Sunday paper, go online and sign up to receive Michaels and Joanns’ emails and the 40% off coupons will be sent directly to your Inbox.

 

Party Tip #2:

Use Cloth Tablecloths…plastic ones are so TACKY!

Cloth tablecloths are not only the “greener” choice, they will also class up your party. Pick a fabric that coordinates with your theme. Once again I use my 40% off coupon at JoAnns for the material. I buy one long piece and cut it to the desired lengths at home. If you are wondering what you will do with it afterwards #1 Sell them on Ebay once you are done. #2 Let friends borrow them (Yes, I have had people ask to borrow my tablecloths!) #3 Reuse it in a different manner. If you have sewing skills, use some of the fabric to make an item of clothing, a cute skirt or dress for your little one. I have also been known to make a baby blanket or burp cloth from the fabric and have used them as gifts. Be creative. If you aren’t so sure about committing to that much fabric, use a solid color tablecloth you already have and then buy a smaller amount of fabric. Cut them into large squares, and place them (diamond shape) in the center of the table. I couldn’t find any cute cherry fabric at the time of my daughter’s first birthday, so I bought red gingham fabric instead (which still coordinated with the invitations).

(Please forgive me for the boring centerpieces! Reason #99 why I wish I could redo this party theme!!)

(Side note from Kara Noel: This is me, Hot Hubby & 9-month-old Eli!)

Party Tip #3:

Have an Outstanding Cake or Cupcakes

This is a centerpiece to the party. Take the time and put in the effort to purchase or make a coordinating cake/cupcakes. Making cakes/cupcakes can be fun, easy and inexpensive. Get ideas by going online. The possibilities are endless. I made this cherry cake in just a few hours (bake time included) I had an idea of what I wanted and I just went for it. The cherries were made from a dome pan I actually borrowed from Kara Noel (thanks again KN!). As for the stem and leaf, I made a few sheet cakes and cut them. It was a chocolate cake covered in fondant (you would be surprised, fondant is not that hard to work with). It turned out a bit large, 2 feet tall to be exact, but I had 60 people to serve. Everyone loved it and we even had some left over.

 

(The epic 2-foot-tall cherry cake and Grace’s adorable smash cake!)

Party Tip #4:

Make/Buy a Personalized Banner

My daughter’s first birthday banner was very simple. I made it using some white butcher paper I had purchased from the teacher supply store and Tempera paint. It wasn’t the cutest banner, but it worked. I have since invested in a Cricut and now make my banners using that, but my LOVE for my Cricut will have to wait for a later post. Birthday banners just give the party a nice personalized touch.

Party Tip #5:

Keep the food simple…It’s only one meal of your guest’s day!

I have NOT been blessed in the kitchen, so I keep my party food pretty simple. Most of the time I serve sandwiches, fruit, and salad. I have purchased party platter sandwiches from Costco, Subway, The Honey Baked Ham Store and Togos. They way I figure it, my guests will be eating 2 other meals that day, why do I have to feed them something spectacular?!? I would be surprised if one of them remembers what they ate, even if you did happen to serve something that was impressive. Personally, I want my guests to be wowed by my décor, not by my food. Sorry to disappoint, if you were looking for some fabulous food tips!

Party Tip #6:

Party Favors Should Coordinate with the Party

Send your guests home with a fun memento. Your launch pad for party favors will once again coordinate with your theme. Don’t send home a bunch of random tchotchke (pronounced: chachkees…one of my favorite words!) from Oriental Trading Company. They are a waste of money and I assure you will just end up in the trash (or if you are like me you will end up with a huge pink box full of them because you feel too guilty throwing it away) within days, if not minutes after the party is over. Keep it simple. I bought cherry gummies that came in packs of around 15 and I divided them up into little sucker bags that I got at Michaels. I only had to buy a few bags. It was a very inexpensive yet cute (and yummy) party favor. I made simple tags on the computer and tied them with coordinating red gingham ribbon. Simple and easy.

  

Party Tip #7:

Don’t Forget to Send Thank You Notes!

Make/buy coordinating Thank You notes (Do I sound like a broken record yet?? …EVERTHING should be coordinating, at the very least in the colors of the party if not the theme). I made the cherry Thank Yous from the envelope I had received my thank you note in. I scanned in both sides of the envelope and copied and pasted them onto a blank template. I also try and include a picture of the birthday girl in the thank you to most family and close friends. Don’t send it to everyone because chances are it will just end up tossed or lost! Remember sending a thank you note late is better than never…

 

 

Thank you Kristen!! I remember how much fun this party was for our new little family. I can’t wait for your next post 🙂

We REALLY do wear our Lids all the time around here, and of course I’m always snapping pictures. Somehow they just don’t make it to the blog… till now! We’ve added Lid-Tastic Tuesday! Every Tuesday we’ll do a flashback post of pictures I never got to put on the blog.

Flashing back to March 2010 – We had a few weeks of brisk spring afternoons. I was so tired from being just over half way preggers. I didn’t have energy for long days at the park so we would get our wiggles out with short walks in our area.    

Then we would plant ourselves in a grassy area for a picnic lunch.

 

I remember on this particular day the kiddos were so proud to bring me dandelion flowers and tons of little white balls they were finding in the grass. The white balls turned out be be fertilizer – which melted in their hands and got all over our clothes. It was pretty gross and probably toxic!

 

Baths and naps followed!

(Thanks for flashing back with me!!)