Suzie Says…
I have decided to start a segment called “Suzie Says…” Suzie is my beautiful mom. And she has come up with some good advice over the years… along with quite a bit of silliness!!
Suzie says…
“A person should remember their childhood as being magical.”
And I can say mine truly was!!
I never had to worry with the difficulty of life. My parents knew that most of my life would be spent worrying about bills and cleaning pottys so for the brief time (and how brief it was!!) I was with them we would have fun! They made the decision that my childhood would be magical. Many of us think that it will just happen… but it won’t, it takes some thought on our part. We need to make an intentional effort for our kids. Give your children memories of their tooth fairy leaving a “fairy dust” trail from the windowsill to their pillow, of Santa’s jingle bells ringing from the roof or of making dinner for a neighbor in need.
small dress = shirt
I got this idea from my friend Ester (http://www.sewingtheseed.com/)…
Use your daughter’s baby dresses for shirts as they grow! Here is Cora in a 0-3 month dress, then and now…
I’m starving…
Cora is almost 7 months old. It is time to start taking this baby weight gain seriously! It is time because we went to a pool party over the weekend and I couldn’t hide behind jeans and a tee!
I have eaten healthy all day and now it is evening and I’m starving. My evening spoonful of cookie dough is the enemy. I will be strong!!
I think I’m so creative…
So I ran out of baby food and Cora needed to eat (so demanding… ha). I looked in the fridge to see what I could muster up. Bananas. Strawberries. Rice Cereal. Good! Mash up some banana… mash up a strawberry and add a bit of rice cereal… instant baby food. The whole time I’m doing this I’m thinking… “Wow, I’m so creative!” Mmmmmm… I just mashed up some fruit and added cereal…. so I’m not really creative.
Here are my not-so-creative baby food ideas:
(add rice cereal to thicken & water to thin on all of these)
1) Mash banana, strawberry. Nuke the strawberry to cook out potential allergy stuff.
2) Mash up mango
3) Mash up your sides at dinner. I’ve done rice, beans, noodles…
I’ll add more to this blog whenever I’m not feeling creative!
~KN
Impromptu Picnic…
We had a picnic last night and it really helped to spice up our leftover dinner of pizza and spaghetti. I did roast some fresh yummy veggies. We ate and chatted in the almost Autumn air while Eli played basketball. 
I wish I could say that the picnic was just my creative idea, but in actuality our dining room was an explosion of all my sewing!!!
I’m working on new shirts for Eli’s Lids.
I love sewing 🙂
Use What You Got Salad
Having a toddler at home means we ALWAYS have grapes and string cheese on hand. Here is a simple salad using what you already have in your fridge!
Use What You Got Salad
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Lettuce – use spring mix or add some spinach to fancy it up
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String Cheese – cut it in half or in quarters before slicing to disguise the string
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Grapes – Red grapes add some nice color. If you have never had grapes on salad you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much flavor it adds… you may not even want to use dressing!
My husband likes balsamic vinaigrette on this salad, but for me the grapes are enough. This salad is VERY kids friendly, as they already love 2 out of 3 ingredients.
Easy Peel Sticker Tip
My son loves stickers but has lots of trouble peeling them from the sticker sheet. He gets flustered and a fun color time can quickly turn into a hissy fit.
I started peeling off the sticker space around the actual stickers and he is able to peel the stickers off “all by himself!!”
Blueberry Blend…
Another one of my simple baby food concoctions!
Blueberry Blend
- 1 container of blueberries – I used 6oz
- 1 banana
- Puree in the blender till it is completely liquefied. Use rice cereal if it needs to be thickened up. Use applesauce or water if it needs to be thinned down.
Cora gobbling down the Blueberry Blend!!
About blueberries: Blueberries are loaded with vitamin C, manganese, fiber and vitamin E. They can help prevent cataracts, glaucoma, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, heart disease and cancer. AND, improve structures in the veins and vascular system. Tufts University analyzed 60 fruits and vegetables for their antioxidant capability. Blueberries, rated highest in their capacity to destroy free radicals.
Information from The World’s Healthiest Foods: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=8