Babywearing:
As Ive shared multiple times, I was horrified of my kids when they were babies. Whether or not that fear was valid, thats up for more discussion, lol, but seriously, I was horrified. From a very early time though, I wanted and really needed them to be somewhat independent. I didnt want my kids to need to be with me at all times, or need to be held in order to sleep or settle. I wanted my body back and some freedom - remember, 15 weeks of bed rest because my body wasnt mine, but was a baby baker. However, things as always, did not go as planned. I still feel to this day that E was traumatized during his second hospital stay. Im sure the care was good and all, but he had spent 28 days in the hospital, came home for 2 weeks and then was back for a few days with his reflux. He was taken away, again. The beginning weeks and months of a childs life are vital for their attachment to family, mommy and daddy. . . and he had to go back to the hospital. He came home and we had to re-learn how to feed him. We had to give him prevacid 3 times a day. He screamed, a lot. Especially during the first weeks while the medicine kicked in and started to heal him to he could feel better. Through my own exhaustion and hormones, it was hard to see past my own discomfort. I was still afraid of creating this dependent creature, and I failed to see that he and N were born dependent creatures. That it wasnt the time to teach independence. . . yet. While N was ok to be left in the crib or pack n play with a toy or musical toy going, E just wasnt there yet. N hadnt been taken from his home though, his NICU issues were far less severe than E's.
So, what might I have done differently? I would have worn E all the time! Baby wearing is the use of a baby bjorn type thing. There are a million on the market, and its important to find what is comfortable for you and baby at the same time. There is one on the market called the baby ergo:
http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/
I wish I had gotten that one. Everyone I know who has it looooves it. Im not sure what the weight limit is, but I understand you can use it for quite some time. I think E would have benefitted from being close more, earlier. I gave in at one point and bought a maya wrap, but I wasnt as happy with it and didnt use it as often as Id have liked. I tihnk I might have if it was more comfortable. Part of the issue too was that the ergo cost $100+. But. . . I probably could have found on on craigslist and washed it. . . . whatever. . . hindsight is 20/20, and I promise you, and the dr. agrees, both E and N are perfectly happy, well adjusted, developing on target little men:)
Its just a PHASE!
Often I have said I wish someone told me that. . bla bla bla. But I cant say this here. We've all heard that 'oh, its just a phase'. Babies do that, and it changes, etc. . nothing is forever. Im not sure how I could have hard wired this into my brain, especially since Im still working on that part. But nothing is forever, as soon as you get one thing down, another changes. Its all fluid. A LOT of trial and error. I havent figured out a way around that part yet, but will share if I do. I had a hard time with the sleep thing, and the routine thing. Every time we had a piece of the sleep issues down, or a new part of the routine that I felt worked. . . anything that threatened anything I had down pat was to be squashed. Eventually though. . . they go to sleep, mama gets her shower, and even gets to sleep. . . through the night:) It might take a while, but it DOES happen. I was so hung up on not losing any part of what I had created that I refused help and made up excuses a lot. Maybe it was the hormones?
Again though, I have to say. . . . my boys are happy, healthy, and currently as I type? Playing in their cribs before nap time:)
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Toddler activities
Just came across this note on my computer. I do not know the source, but want to specify, the ideas are not mine and I cannot take credit, just sharing, enjoy!
1. COLORED RICE
An idea for indoor entertainment at home is letting them play with colored rice ….if they can be trained not to put it in their mouths.
Get a storage container - it's nice if it's large enough for 1 child to sit in cause they'll be determined to do it- I make them take turns- (my container is maybe 2ft long, 1.5ft wide and 5" high? small enough that I can lift it and store it, but just large enough for 1 child to sit in and many children to gather around) and fill it with rainbow colored uncooked white rice. Lay down a bed sheet/table cloth/paint drop cloth, put the rice in the storage container on top of the sheet. Give them funnels and jars to fill up, spoons, measuring cups if you want to work discussing full/empty terms with them, a few plastic animals they'll enjoy burying and then finding......when they're done, you can use the bedsheet to funnel in rice that spilled out of the container back into the container, and rice that went beyond the sheet is swept up and thrown away. To make colored rice, buy many bags of basic white rice, and put rice in ziploc bags. Drop in food coloring with 2 Tbls rubbing alchol which helps the dye stay and not rub off on hands. Mix the rice up in the ziplock back then lay out on a baking sheet and let dry for a bit – you could also try maybe low temp in the oven. This is a winner for many ages and keeps them focused for a while. Then store the container and sheet away to use another time. We've been using ours for 4 years now, and even with all the rice I sweep and throw away I still haven't had to make more colored rice. And rice is far easier to sweep than sand, so that's why I champion this as better indoor texture play than a box of sand.
2. Large boxes with packing peanuts
Kids love to jump in, hide in and play with packing peanuts in large boxes. I keep them around until the boxes are destroyed.
3. Body painting before bath time. Use washable paints, strip them down to their diapers, put some paint on some paper plates and let them go. Messy – yes – but washable paints are quick and easy to clean up. Buy some rolls of butcher paper and cover the floor so they can make footprint art (makes unique wrapping paper).
4. Playhut’s indoor pop up tents, tunnels and ball tent. Playhut has easy to fold and store pop up tents with attachable tunnels, etc. A ball tent is great – you can pick up bags of ball tent balls at Toys R Us (much cheaper than ordering that online and paying for shipping) – you’ll need at least 200 balls for a ball tent. I’ll pull out the ball tent for 2 weeks, then pack it up (balls come in re-zipperable bags) and store away for a while. The other huts and tunnels can be fit into small rooms- I'll even run it down a hallway.
5. Magna doodles – my favorite first drawing tool….as I dislike Crayola’s Wonder markers since it takes a second or two after the child has drawn for the line to appear and this confuses the child.
6. Make your own playdoh and provide some plastic scissors, small plastic cookie cutters, children’s rolling pins, and pastry wheels to play with.
COLORED PLAYDOUGH
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
½ cup salt
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar
Food coloring
Saucepan
1 cup flour
Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in a saucepan and heat until warm. Remove from heat and add flour. Stir, then knead until smooth. The cream of tartar makes this dough last 6 months or longer, so resist the temptation to omit this ingredient if you don’t have it on hand. Store this dough in an airtight container or Ziploc freezer bag.
7. Colored sand/salt art. Buy colored sand, or color your own sand or salt using powdered paints. Put the colored sand/salt in salt shakers. Give each child a piece of paper in a tray/cookie sheet and let them ‘draw’ with a glue stick. Then allow them to shake the colored sand/salt on their drawing, tip the paper up and there is their masterpiece....and toss the left over salt in the tray.
8. Even the smallest back yards or condo patios can usually fit a sand box or water table or sand/water table. Ditto with smaller play slides from Step 2 or Little Tikes.
9. HUNTS:
a) Plastic egg hunts – it doesn’t need to be easter. Fill some with their favorite snacks, place them around the room and let them gather them. If you don’t have plastic eggs, tie snack filled ziplock bags with ribbon.
b) If you have a sandbox, buy some rocks and gold paint spray at Home depot – spray the rocks, bury the rocks in the sandbox and let them hunt for gold. Or toss the rocks around the backyard and let them hunt for them.
10. Begin teaching them how to do playful wrestling – no biting, no shoes, no kicking…the kids will do it naturally on their own but better that you make it an “activity” so they learn how to do it nicely. And, if any of your children are boys then wrestling is a necessity to burn off “boy energy.” Any time my son is starting to get whiny, I find spending 5 mins wrestling with him can make a remarkable difference. I often get trapped into a power struggle with him and then suddenly a lightbulb will go off in my head and I realize I haven't wrestled with him in a while - and bingo, the behavior problems end for the day.
11. Get a gym mat so they can practice tumbling…most mats fold up so you can slide in a closet/behind a bureau, etc.
12. They are old enough for imaginary play and cooking/playing restaurant is fun for boys and girls at this age…so if you don’t already have a play kitchen, get one.
13. Check out the books by Trish Kuffner. I love “The Toddler’s Busy Book”
I know you specified “at home” activities, but there are 3 field trips that I think are manageable with 1 adult + multiples - plus parking is free and easy. It's a short walk from your car to the first 2, a bit of a longer walk for Skirball so you may need a stroller:
1. Playa Vista Sports Park – it is gated and has a security guard usually posted outside.
2. The Zimmer Children’s Musuem – a small “contained” museum with only 1 exit that has staff posted at it. So kids can run around downstairs without you worrying about anyone disappearing. Great for all ages. Children are free, you pay for the adults but a membership can be well worth it. They also offer toddler art and cooking classes.
3. The Skirball’s Noah’s Ark Exhibit.- you have to prebuy date/timed tickets through their website (look into a membership) but again this is another “contained” exhibit with lots of staff walking around to keep an eye on the kids – so if your kids run in 3 separate directions you don’t need to panic. Great for all ages. During the summer you can time your entrance along with watching one of their 30min free family conferences on weekends, and when the kids are a bit older…maybe 2 ½ or 3, during the summer there is also a free drop in art studio you can hit after the Noah exhibit, thereby really maximizing your time there.....there are also outside tables so you can bring a picnic lunch, or eat while watching a free concert.
1. COLORED RICE
An idea for indoor entertainment at home is letting them play with colored rice ….if they can be trained not to put it in their mouths.
Get a storage container - it's nice if it's large enough for 1 child to sit in cause they'll be determined to do it- I make them take turns- (my container is maybe 2ft long, 1.5ft wide and 5" high? small enough that I can lift it and store it, but just large enough for 1 child to sit in and many children to gather around) and fill it with rainbow colored uncooked white rice. Lay down a bed sheet/table cloth/paint drop cloth, put the rice in the storage container on top of the sheet. Give them funnels and jars to fill up, spoons, measuring cups if you want to work discussing full/empty terms with them, a few plastic animals they'll enjoy burying and then finding......when they're done, you can use the bedsheet to funnel in rice that spilled out of the container back into the container, and rice that went beyond the sheet is swept up and thrown away. To make colored rice, buy many bags of basic white rice, and put rice in ziploc bags. Drop in food coloring with 2 Tbls rubbing alchol which helps the dye stay and not rub off on hands. Mix the rice up in the ziplock back then lay out on a baking sheet and let dry for a bit – you could also try maybe low temp in the oven. This is a winner for many ages and keeps them focused for a while. Then store the container and sheet away to use another time. We've been using ours for 4 years now, and even with all the rice I sweep and throw away I still haven't had to make more colored rice. And rice is far easier to sweep than sand, so that's why I champion this as better indoor texture play than a box of sand.
2. Large boxes with packing peanuts
Kids love to jump in, hide in and play with packing peanuts in large boxes. I keep them around until the boxes are destroyed.
3. Body painting before bath time. Use washable paints, strip them down to their diapers, put some paint on some paper plates and let them go. Messy – yes – but washable paints are quick and easy to clean up. Buy some rolls of butcher paper and cover the floor so they can make footprint art (makes unique wrapping paper).
4. Playhut’s indoor pop up tents, tunnels and ball tent. Playhut has easy to fold and store pop up tents with attachable tunnels, etc. A ball tent is great – you can pick up bags of ball tent balls at Toys R Us (much cheaper than ordering that online and paying for shipping) – you’ll need at least 200 balls for a ball tent. I’ll pull out the ball tent for 2 weeks, then pack it up (balls come in re-zipperable bags) and store away for a while. The other huts and tunnels can be fit into small rooms- I'll even run it down a hallway.
5. Magna doodles – my favorite first drawing tool….as I dislike Crayola’s Wonder markers since it takes a second or two after the child has drawn for the line to appear and this confuses the child.
6. Make your own playdoh and provide some plastic scissors, small plastic cookie cutters, children’s rolling pins, and pastry wheels to play with.
COLORED PLAYDOUGH
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
½ cup salt
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar
Food coloring
Saucepan
1 cup flour
Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in a saucepan and heat until warm. Remove from heat and add flour. Stir, then knead until smooth. The cream of tartar makes this dough last 6 months or longer, so resist the temptation to omit this ingredient if you don’t have it on hand. Store this dough in an airtight container or Ziploc freezer bag.
7. Colored sand/salt art. Buy colored sand, or color your own sand or salt using powdered paints. Put the colored sand/salt in salt shakers. Give each child a piece of paper in a tray/cookie sheet and let them ‘draw’ with a glue stick. Then allow them to shake the colored sand/salt on their drawing, tip the paper up and there is their masterpiece....and toss the left over salt in the tray.
8. Even the smallest back yards or condo patios can usually fit a sand box or water table or sand/water table. Ditto with smaller play slides from Step 2 or Little Tikes.
9. HUNTS:
a) Plastic egg hunts – it doesn’t need to be easter. Fill some with their favorite snacks, place them around the room and let them gather them. If you don’t have plastic eggs, tie snack filled ziplock bags with ribbon.
b) If you have a sandbox, buy some rocks and gold paint spray at Home depot – spray the rocks, bury the rocks in the sandbox and let them hunt for gold. Or toss the rocks around the backyard and let them hunt for them.
10. Begin teaching them how to do playful wrestling – no biting, no shoes, no kicking…the kids will do it naturally on their own but better that you make it an “activity” so they learn how to do it nicely. And, if any of your children are boys then wrestling is a necessity to burn off “boy energy.” Any time my son is starting to get whiny, I find spending 5 mins wrestling with him can make a remarkable difference. I often get trapped into a power struggle with him and then suddenly a lightbulb will go off in my head and I realize I haven't wrestled with him in a while - and bingo, the behavior problems end for the day.
11. Get a gym mat so they can practice tumbling…most mats fold up so you can slide in a closet/behind a bureau, etc.
12. They are old enough for imaginary play and cooking/playing restaurant is fun for boys and girls at this age…so if you don’t already have a play kitchen, get one.
13. Check out the books by Trish Kuffner. I love “The Toddler’s Busy Book”
I know you specified “at home” activities, but there are 3 field trips that I think are manageable with 1 adult + multiples - plus parking is free and easy. It's a short walk from your car to the first 2, a bit of a longer walk for Skirball so you may need a stroller:
1. Playa Vista Sports Park – it is gated and has a security guard usually posted outside.
2. The Zimmer Children’s Musuem – a small “contained” museum with only 1 exit that has staff posted at it. So kids can run around downstairs without you worrying about anyone disappearing. Great for all ages. Children are free, you pay for the adults but a membership can be well worth it. They also offer toddler art and cooking classes.
3. The Skirball’s Noah’s Ark Exhibit.- you have to prebuy date/timed tickets through their website (look into a membership) but again this is another “contained” exhibit with lots of staff walking around to keep an eye on the kids – so if your kids run in 3 separate directions you don’t need to panic. Great for all ages. During the summer you can time your entrance along with watching one of their 30min free family conferences on weekends, and when the kids are a bit older…maybe 2 ½ or 3, during the summer there is also a free drop in art studio you can hit after the Noah exhibit, thereby really maximizing your time there.....there are also outside tables so you can bring a picnic lunch, or eat while watching a free concert.
Twins and the stuff
A lot of people think that having two babies means two of everything. Two of the same toy, book, blanket, swing, bouncy chair, etc. Its NOT true! There are obvious things a twin family needs two of. . . cribs, car seats, high chairs / boosters.
Bouncer
I'd recommend a bouncy chair AND a swing to start and then you can see which your kids prefer. We started with two bouncers:
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-K2564-Rainforest-Bouncer/dp/B000I2WB6G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293687266&sr=8-1
A bouncer like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Infant-Toddler-Rocker-Friends/dp/B001HTJS60/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1293687326&sr=8-3
might even be better. I like toys and items that grow with the child since a phase only last so long, and lets face it. . . we only have so much space! This chair starts as a bouncer, and progresses to a rocker/stationary chair.
Swing
And got a swing later on. . . niether of my boys like the swing. It could be because we waited a while to get one, but in any event. . we returned the darn thing!! I know other families who swear by their swing, so its worth looking into.
http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Sweet-Peace-Soother-Cuddly/dp/B002T4F0UU/ref=sr_1_17?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1293687582&sr=1-17
Car Seats
We used the graco snugride car seat:
http://www.amazon.com/Graco-SnugRide-Infant-Tango-Tongo/dp/B001PNAL5U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1293687653&sr=1-1
It was rated highly on consumer reports, so we went with it.
When it was time to move on to convertible car seats, we went with the Evenflo Triumph.
http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Triumph-Advance-Convertible-Harbortown/dp/B000YZD0QM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1293688305&sr=1-1-spell
Again, it had a strong consumer reports rating. We got one for N at about 10 months, and another for E a few months later. E has always been smaller, so we didnt feel the need to upgrade him just because we were getting a new one for N, who was too tall for the infant seat! We DID, however, have to say goodbye to our snap n go at this point. Once one kid is out of the infant seat, the snap n go was useless. This initial transfer is expensive, but when the second kiddo is ready for the bigger car seat, its just one purchase at that point.
There are some car seats that are safe for an infant -toddler of some age. I think starting with the infant car seat is best because of the versatility. A sleeping baby can easily be carried in and out of the car, the store, mall, wherever. . . but if you have a stationary convertible car seat, the baby needs to be taken out at each stop - a rough time for busy parents, and especially parents of twinssss. Our grace snug ride had an optional snap n swing so if we came home with sleeping babies, we could snap the swing in to keep the motion of the car going - at least some semblance of it.
http://www.amazon.com/Graco-SnugGlider-Swing-SnugRide-Infant/dp/B000M4K4BY/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1293688665&sr=1-1
We also picked this car seat because it has a high weight for rear facing. Legally, a childs seat can be turned forward at 1 year or 22 lbs. . . maybe 20, cant remember. Studies I cannot site because I dont remember, have shown that the longer a kid is rear facing, the safer they are and more likely they are to survive an accident. G-d forbid of course, but we have both boys rear facing still, at almost 19 months, and at 26 and 22 lbs.
Strollers
Graco makes a whole travel system: car seats, car seat bases (a base that sits in the car and the car seat snaps into it for easy in and out) and a stroller. Its a great combo, but VERY bulky. Most twin strollers are bulky, but I just coudnt handle this ginormo stroller, PLUS the car seats in there. . picture the link below, WITH car seats. . . just a huge freakin bus!
http://about.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=1997/form_keyword=graco+duoglider/rd=1/st=query
We started with the Babytrend snap n go:
http://www.babytrend.com/strollers_snap-n-go/1305TW.html
This was awesome and worked so well for me. I was on my own a lot with the kids, and this stroller is just poles so it weighs like nothing. VERY easy in and out of the car and stroller, and light, which was nice to my back:)
Once the boys were big enough, and out of their infant car seats, we opted for the Kolcraft contours duo stroller:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VPCPRS/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000J2DQPA&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0G8BCX7SQFXSFEN6D6K9
I liked this stroller because the seats can change position. I had visions, which have come true over and over again, of my boys pulling each others hair. For amusement, meanness, crankyness. . . whatever. . they pull hair! Soon, Im sure they will be kicking each other too. This stroller is cool because my kids can face each other, both face me, both face front, OR even face away from each other. . . . this might be a good timeout positioning if we come to that in the stroller. They HAVE figured out that they can reach over the top of the front sitter, if he is facing forwards, and still pull his hair. I cant imagine how they would be in something side by side though, even as luxurious as the city mini.
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Jogger-Double-Stroller-Orange/dp/B003WIYO2C/ref=sr_1_2?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1293688210&sr=1-2
The kolcraft is a bulky fit when folded up and the city mini folds like a dream, but it costs more too. . . . tough call, but I still think we went the right way.
Pack n play
There is a pack n play out there that is specifically for twins. . . I think its totally unnecessary. We had the chicco lullaby play yard:
http://www.amazon.com/Chicco-Lullaby-Baby-Playard-Discovery/dp/B003ER9926/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1293688719&sr=1-3
Honestly. . . I think we went overboard on this request. It was a bit too fancy for what we really needed. As new parents though, I went with things I read and blah blah blah. As long as the pack n play is safe, has a bassinet and a changing table, I think its great. The bassinet attaches to the rim of the pack n play and holds the babies up at a high level, easier on your back, and for good reason. . . teeny new babies arent climbing yet, so they can be up high with little risk of them flopping out onto the floor. We bundled both boys in the bassinett together until they were over the 15lb combined weight limit. Being that N was born at 5'5 and E was 4'7, we had some time. This is obviously not the way to go with twins born at 6lbs each!
One thing I liked about this pack n play was it came with a snap on night light. . . I was paranoid and checked to make sure they were breathing at all hours. We started out in a small apartment, with the pack n play at the foot of our bed - there wasnt room to have it on the side next to us. I slept upside down for a long time. . . my head at the foot of the bed near my babies and my feet near by poor hubbys face.
High chair
We have two evenflo high chairs. . they are huge. I cant even find a link for them online anymore, so maybe they are discontinued??? Either way, its important to read reviews. Its also important to have something easy to clean because these things get DIRTY!!! No fabric, fancy stuff. . . plastic lined, all washable, wipeable surfaces:)
Im undecided, but I think maybe we could have been better off choosing a booster with tray that sits on a chair, at the kitchen table. Im not sure though because even now, with almost 19 month olds, its nice to have space for 4 adults to sit, and the kids have their own messy eating space.
For travel eating, I think this munchkin booster seat is a MUST!~
http://www.target.com/Munchkin-Travel-Booster-Seat-Green/dp/B002XMRGMS
Its awesome because it folds up small for keeping in the car, and when you drop by someones house, friends, family, or a restaurant without high chairs, you have a seat already! There is a storage compartment at the bottom for food utensils, diapers, wipes, toys, whatever! VERY cool thing:)
Bottles
We have used all kinds of different bottles. its a hard thing to figure out what bottle will work for one kid, let alone 2!! We spent a lot of money trying to figure it out and ended up with the playtex drop in system. Its not the greenest option, but it its the easiest to clean. The liners can be purchased at Target. . use their brand, its all fine, and they are recyclable. Its a monthly cost, but time is worth something too, right? E had acid reflux for 10 months, so we used the playtex ventaires with him - they are supposed to limit air intake, and cause less spit up and reflux spit up. These bottles have like 5 pieces and were a PAIN to clean!
Cribs
We got our baby furniture form IKEA. The cribs are convertible and turn into toddler beds - though Im dreading the day they can get out of bed on their own!!!
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60108663
We got the matching dresser and changing table too.
Swaddling
We loooved these aden and anais light weight swaddlers. They are really big and made swaddling really easy. I wish we had found them sooner! Receiving blankets werent as useful as these, and we got a TON of those!!!
I heard awesome things about the miracle blanket too, but never had the guts to spend the $40 on them to try it out, so I cant speak to that.
SIDS
any new parent will have read and overread things on SIDS, and how to prevent it, what it actually is. . . .we have had a fan in our boys room since day 1. Those are said to lower the risk. The risk also goes down as the kiddos get older. There is a definite risk of over heating a baby as well. In an air conditioned house, we were still worried. This is part of why I looooved the aden and anais swaddlers. We put the kids in diapers, onesies, and these swaddlers, and I felt like they were warm, but not hot.
More of the stuff to come later. . .
Bouncer
I'd recommend a bouncy chair AND a swing to start and then you can see which your kids prefer. We started with two bouncers:
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-K2564-Rainforest-Bouncer/dp/B000I2WB6G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293687266&sr=8-1
A bouncer like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Infant-Toddler-Rocker-Friends/dp/B001HTJS60/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1293687326&sr=8-3
might even be better. I like toys and items that grow with the child since a phase only last so long, and lets face it. . . we only have so much space! This chair starts as a bouncer, and progresses to a rocker/stationary chair.
Swing
And got a swing later on. . . niether of my boys like the swing. It could be because we waited a while to get one, but in any event. . we returned the darn thing!! I know other families who swear by their swing, so its worth looking into.
http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Sweet-Peace-Soother-Cuddly/dp/B002T4F0UU/ref=sr_1_17?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1293687582&sr=1-17
Car Seats
We used the graco snugride car seat:
http://www.amazon.com/Graco-SnugRide-Infant-Tango-Tongo/dp/B001PNAL5U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1293687653&sr=1-1
It was rated highly on consumer reports, so we went with it.
When it was time to move on to convertible car seats, we went with the Evenflo Triumph.
http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Triumph-Advance-Convertible-Harbortown/dp/B000YZD0QM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1293688305&sr=1-1-spell
Again, it had a strong consumer reports rating. We got one for N at about 10 months, and another for E a few months later. E has always been smaller, so we didnt feel the need to upgrade him just because we were getting a new one for N, who was too tall for the infant seat! We DID, however, have to say goodbye to our snap n go at this point. Once one kid is out of the infant seat, the snap n go was useless. This initial transfer is expensive, but when the second kiddo is ready for the bigger car seat, its just one purchase at that point.
There are some car seats that are safe for an infant -toddler of some age. I think starting with the infant car seat is best because of the versatility. A sleeping baby can easily be carried in and out of the car, the store, mall, wherever. . . but if you have a stationary convertible car seat, the baby needs to be taken out at each stop - a rough time for busy parents, and especially parents of twinssss. Our grace snug ride had an optional snap n swing so if we came home with sleeping babies, we could snap the swing in to keep the motion of the car going - at least some semblance of it.
http://www.amazon.com/Graco-SnugGlider-Swing-SnugRide-Infant/dp/B000M4K4BY/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1293688665&sr=1-1
We also picked this car seat because it has a high weight for rear facing. Legally, a childs seat can be turned forward at 1 year or 22 lbs. . . maybe 20, cant remember. Studies I cannot site because I dont remember, have shown that the longer a kid is rear facing, the safer they are and more likely they are to survive an accident. G-d forbid of course, but we have both boys rear facing still, at almost 19 months, and at 26 and 22 lbs.
Strollers
Graco makes a whole travel system: car seats, car seat bases (a base that sits in the car and the car seat snaps into it for easy in and out) and a stroller. Its a great combo, but VERY bulky. Most twin strollers are bulky, but I just coudnt handle this ginormo stroller, PLUS the car seats in there. . picture the link below, WITH car seats. . . just a huge freakin bus!
http://about.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=1997/form_keyword=graco+duoglider/rd=1/st=query
We started with the Babytrend snap n go:
http://www.babytrend.com/strollers_snap-n-go/1305TW.html
This was awesome and worked so well for me. I was on my own a lot with the kids, and this stroller is just poles so it weighs like nothing. VERY easy in and out of the car and stroller, and light, which was nice to my back:)
Once the boys were big enough, and out of their infant car seats, we opted for the Kolcraft contours duo stroller:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VPCPRS/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000J2DQPA&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0G8BCX7SQFXSFEN6D6K9
I liked this stroller because the seats can change position. I had visions, which have come true over and over again, of my boys pulling each others hair. For amusement, meanness, crankyness. . . whatever. . they pull hair! Soon, Im sure they will be kicking each other too. This stroller is cool because my kids can face each other, both face me, both face front, OR even face away from each other. . . . this might be a good timeout positioning if we come to that in the stroller. They HAVE figured out that they can reach over the top of the front sitter, if he is facing forwards, and still pull his hair. I cant imagine how they would be in something side by side though, even as luxurious as the city mini.
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Jogger-Double-Stroller-Orange/dp/B003WIYO2C/ref=sr_1_2?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1293688210&sr=1-2
The kolcraft is a bulky fit when folded up and the city mini folds like a dream, but it costs more too. . . . tough call, but I still think we went the right way.
Pack n play
There is a pack n play out there that is specifically for twins. . . I think its totally unnecessary. We had the chicco lullaby play yard:
http://www.amazon.com/Chicco-Lullaby-Baby-Playard-Discovery/dp/B003ER9926/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1293688719&sr=1-3
Honestly. . . I think we went overboard on this request. It was a bit too fancy for what we really needed. As new parents though, I went with things I read and blah blah blah. As long as the pack n play is safe, has a bassinet and a changing table, I think its great. The bassinet attaches to the rim of the pack n play and holds the babies up at a high level, easier on your back, and for good reason. . . teeny new babies arent climbing yet, so they can be up high with little risk of them flopping out onto the floor. We bundled both boys in the bassinett together until they were over the 15lb combined weight limit. Being that N was born at 5'5 and E was 4'7, we had some time. This is obviously not the way to go with twins born at 6lbs each!
One thing I liked about this pack n play was it came with a snap on night light. . . I was paranoid and checked to make sure they were breathing at all hours. We started out in a small apartment, with the pack n play at the foot of our bed - there wasnt room to have it on the side next to us. I slept upside down for a long time. . . my head at the foot of the bed near my babies and my feet near by poor hubbys face.
High chair
We have two evenflo high chairs. . they are huge. I cant even find a link for them online anymore, so maybe they are discontinued??? Either way, its important to read reviews. Its also important to have something easy to clean because these things get DIRTY!!! No fabric, fancy stuff. . . plastic lined, all washable, wipeable surfaces:)
Im undecided, but I think maybe we could have been better off choosing a booster with tray that sits on a chair, at the kitchen table. Im not sure though because even now, with almost 19 month olds, its nice to have space for 4 adults to sit, and the kids have their own messy eating space.
For travel eating, I think this munchkin booster seat is a MUST!~
http://www.target.com/Munchkin-Travel-Booster-Seat-Green/dp/B002XMRGMS
Its awesome because it folds up small for keeping in the car, and when you drop by someones house, friends, family, or a restaurant without high chairs, you have a seat already! There is a storage compartment at the bottom for food utensils, diapers, wipes, toys, whatever! VERY cool thing:)
Bottles
We have used all kinds of different bottles. its a hard thing to figure out what bottle will work for one kid, let alone 2!! We spent a lot of money trying to figure it out and ended up with the playtex drop in system. Its not the greenest option, but it its the easiest to clean. The liners can be purchased at Target. . use their brand, its all fine, and they are recyclable. Its a monthly cost, but time is worth something too, right? E had acid reflux for 10 months, so we used the playtex ventaires with him - they are supposed to limit air intake, and cause less spit up and reflux spit up. These bottles have like 5 pieces and were a PAIN to clean!
Cribs
We got our baby furniture form IKEA. The cribs are convertible and turn into toddler beds - though Im dreading the day they can get out of bed on their own!!!
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60108663
We got the matching dresser and changing table too.
Swaddling
We loooved these aden and anais light weight swaddlers. They are really big and made swaddling really easy. I wish we had found them sooner! Receiving blankets werent as useful as these, and we got a TON of those!!!
I heard awesome things about the miracle blanket too, but never had the guts to spend the $40 on them to try it out, so I cant speak to that.
SIDS
any new parent will have read and overread things on SIDS, and how to prevent it, what it actually is. . . .we have had a fan in our boys room since day 1. Those are said to lower the risk. The risk also goes down as the kiddos get older. There is a definite risk of over heating a baby as well. In an air conditioned house, we were still worried. This is part of why I looooved the aden and anais swaddlers. We put the kids in diapers, onesies, and these swaddlers, and I felt like they were warm, but not hot.
More of the stuff to come later. . .
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
New Year's Eve Strawberry Champagne Sparkler Cupcakes
thinking about making these. . .
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/DC-Cupcakes-New-Years-Eve-Strawberry-Champagne-Sparkler-Cupcakes
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/DC-Cupcakes-New-Years-Eve-Strawberry-Champagne-Sparkler-Cupcakes
little red wagon, the deluxe version!
One of the kids millions of Channukah gifts was this red wagon:
Its soooo awesome!!! They have been getting a bit big for the stroller, and this wagon being so low to the ground gives them a new perspective on things. We loooove it:) We have gone on several walks and they turn into nature walks! The boys can reach out easily and touch the plants passing by. The seats have a removable padding, with extra pockets. There is some storage behind the back seat and the bag on the back of the wagon is huge! Holds a lot of stuff. There are cup holders in the wagon for sippies and on the outside for grown up water bottles. The canopy is great too and keeps the sun out of their eyes. There are several set ups for the seats, so this wagon for two kids, or one and storage, or even as a desk! Soooo great:)
Its soooo awesome!!! They have been getting a bit big for the stroller, and this wagon being so low to the ground gives them a new perspective on things. We loooove it:) We have gone on several walks and they turn into nature walks! The boys can reach out easily and touch the plants passing by. The seats have a removable padding, with extra pockets. There is some storage behind the back seat and the bag on the back of the wagon is huge! Holds a lot of stuff. There are cup holders in the wagon for sippies and on the outside for grown up water bottles. The canopy is great too and keeps the sun out of their eyes. There are several set ups for the seats, so this wagon for two kids, or one and storage, or even as a desk! Soooo great:)
Twin / multiple kid friendly parks
**continuouslty updated post. boys are nearing 21 months now.
As a mother of nearly 19 month old twins, my park options have severely dwindled. Where we used to join our playgroup at all the parks, now, as I can only chase a running toddler so fast. Even with our family living nearby, there are only so many hours in a day where someone is available to chase with me because people have jobs! Soooo. . . . here is what we've been doing. . .
Irving Schachter Park, Beverlywood
http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=irving+schachter+park&fb=1&gl=us&hq=irving+schachter+park&hnear=irving+schachter+park&cid=6121344263658565275
We recently discovered this park with the help of our playgroup as well! Its a bit more of a drive than I'd like for a park, BUT being that we have twins and therefore more restrictions on where I can take the kids on my own, its worth it. This park is also totally gated, but bigger than the toddler park in Playa Vista. It was a great time with plenty of space for the kids to run around and push our wagon along. It did make it more difficult to see where my boys were at any given moment. I was comfortable though because I was in a group of 5+ mamas who also watch out for everyones kiddos.
There is a lot of sand at this park and plenty of concrete for push toys and ride alongs.
Parking is on the street, no parking lot. Ive never had a problem though. I dont think there is street cleaning here, but make sure to check for signs.
Santa Monica Airport Park
http://maps.google.com/maps/place?client=safari&rls=en&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=santa+monica+airport+park&fb=1&gl=us&hq=airport+park&hnear=Santa+Monica,+CA&cid=5293622992095494220
It appears this listing, and the others I found, are for the dog park area. There IS a dog park, and its nice from what I have seen, but we got for the gated play area:) Not my favorite for the play stuff, and I HATE the slide there - its just too tall and I try very hard to get my boys to ignore it. Its a great park though because of the planes and helicopters coming in and out. They looooove all of that activity going on.
Lots of sand, and interesting play equipment. A decent amount of cement, but not ideal for push toys.
There is a large parking lot that is shared with the dog park. Ive never had a problem parking there.
Douglas Park, Santa Monica
http://www.yelp.com/biz/douglas-park-santa-monica
We checked this park out over the weekend. There is a duck pond, and little creek area on the grass. VERY cool, but not gated. I wouldnt go near it without someone to watch one of my kids while I had the other. Too easy to fall in to some nasty looking water. Some nearby moms told me how they had seen numerous kids fall in. Seriously. . . looks like you could get a staph infection from getting too close. BUT, very cool to walk around and see some nature off of Wilshire Blvd:)
The play area IS gated, but also rather large. I havent decided if I would venture there on my own with both boys. While being large, I can see across the entire playspace, but there are also 4 (I think) gated entrances to get into the play area, and its a bit too accessible for my taste.
A LOT of sand at this park, hardly any cement. There is an oval shaped cemented area just outside the gated playspace. Im not sure what its intended for, but its great for push toys!
Parking was rough, since it was a weekend day, but I saw some meters, and permit parking signs around. Be sure to bring change just in case and watch for the signs around!
Penmar Park, Venice
I havent yet been to this park, and will try to update after visiting. A friend of ours discovered this park, also gated in. This one has two play structures, so that part makes me nervous. I suppose it could be easier for a parent of a young child and another a bit older who doesnt need as much supervision. We will see!
Linnie Canal Park, Venice
We enjoyed this park this morning! Small, so I can see the whole park at once, and there is a gated off duck pond as well. AWESOME find, thanks to my playgroup buddy.
http://www.laparks.org/dos/parks/facility/canalPk.htm
gated and looks great!
This park is a near sand/grass split. There is a bit of concrete, but not the best spot for push toys.
Parking is NOT ideal, and you may need to park along South Venice. Street cleaning days are Monday and Tuesday
Glen Alla Park, Marina Del Rey
http://www.yelp.com/biz/glen-alla-park-marina-del-rey
We visited this park over the long weekend, and it was jam packed! Too big for me and my two on my own though. I cant see across the whole park. I have the same issue at Playa Vista Sports Park. Awesome park.
Mostly rubber floors with a very cool sand area.
I didnt see any parking lot around, so be sure to watch for street cleaning signs when parking on the streets.
Playa Vista Toddler Park, Playa Vista
There is a totally fenced in toddler park at Villosa and Kiyot, in Playa Vista. Right by the dog park. There are two gate entrances, and one play structure, making it much easier than most parks to keep an eye on two kids and to keep them safe.
The floor is all concrete or that rubberized stuff. There is a small area of grass with a few trees as well.
Parking is on the street, and usually there is plenty available. Always watch for street cleaning signs.
Westchester Recreation Center, Westchester
This park is a good fall back park, for us anyway. It is gated, BUT, there are two facility buildings that open into the play area. It seems like the opening and closing doors are too easy for a toddler to slip in/out of, or some creep to come in through. . . too many openings. Part of the enclosed space goes around a corner too, so its not totally visbile.
This park is mostly sand, in the play area, and has some cement by the buildings.
Parking is available in the lot off of Manchester and Georgetown.
Recreation Park, El Segundo
http://www.yelp.com/biz/recreation-park-el-segundo
Today, we ventured south to El Segundo and found this AWESOME and GATED park! My husband and sister in law came along, but its a totally doable park on my own. Ive noticed that a few of the gated parks I have seen are closed off, which is great, but too big for me to see both boys across. This park was a bit bigger, but small enough that I could stand off to the side and see the entire thing. The play structure is gated to the bottom - read, kids cant fall off the bridge as they run across it, and twin mama here is helping the other kid 2 inches too far to catch the falling one.
There is a sand pit as well, so its a good park for shovels and buckets! There is plenty of concrete as well.
There is a parking lot with ample parking.
As a mother of nearly 19 month old twins, my park options have severely dwindled. Where we used to join our playgroup at all the parks, now, as I can only chase a running toddler so fast. Even with our family living nearby, there are only so many hours in a day where someone is available to chase with me because people have jobs! Soooo. . . . here is what we've been doing. . .
Irving Schachter Park, Beverlywood
http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=irving+schachter+park&fb=1&gl=us&hq=irving+schachter+park&hnear=irving+schachter+park&cid=6121344263658565275
We recently discovered this park with the help of our playgroup as well! Its a bit more of a drive than I'd like for a park, BUT being that we have twins and therefore more restrictions on where I can take the kids on my own, its worth it. This park is also totally gated, but bigger than the toddler park in Playa Vista. It was a great time with plenty of space for the kids to run around and push our wagon along. It did make it more difficult to see where my boys were at any given moment. I was comfortable though because I was in a group of 5+ mamas who also watch out for everyones kiddos.
There is a lot of sand at this park and plenty of concrete for push toys and ride alongs.
Parking is on the street, no parking lot. Ive never had a problem though. I dont think there is street cleaning here, but make sure to check for signs.
Santa Monica Airport Park
http://maps.google.com/maps/place?client=safari&rls=en&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=santa+monica+airport+park&fb=1&gl=us&hq=airport+park&hnear=Santa+Monica,+CA&cid=5293622992095494220
It appears this listing, and the others I found, are for the dog park area. There IS a dog park, and its nice from what I have seen, but we got for the gated play area:) Not my favorite for the play stuff, and I HATE the slide there - its just too tall and I try very hard to get my boys to ignore it. Its a great park though because of the planes and helicopters coming in and out. They looooove all of that activity going on.
Lots of sand, and interesting play equipment. A decent amount of cement, but not ideal for push toys.
There is a large parking lot that is shared with the dog park. Ive never had a problem parking there.
Douglas Park, Santa Monica
http://www.yelp.com/biz/douglas-park-santa-monica
We checked this park out over the weekend. There is a duck pond, and little creek area on the grass. VERY cool, but not gated. I wouldnt go near it without someone to watch one of my kids while I had the other. Too easy to fall in to some nasty looking water. Some nearby moms told me how they had seen numerous kids fall in. Seriously. . . looks like you could get a staph infection from getting too close. BUT, very cool to walk around and see some nature off of Wilshire Blvd:)
The play area IS gated, but also rather large. I havent decided if I would venture there on my own with both boys. While being large, I can see across the entire playspace, but there are also 4 (I think) gated entrances to get into the play area, and its a bit too accessible for my taste.
A LOT of sand at this park, hardly any cement. There is an oval shaped cemented area just outside the gated playspace. Im not sure what its intended for, but its great for push toys!
Parking was rough, since it was a weekend day, but I saw some meters, and permit parking signs around. Be sure to bring change just in case and watch for the signs around!
Penmar Park, Venice
I havent yet been to this park, and will try to update after visiting. A friend of ours discovered this park, also gated in. This one has two play structures, so that part makes me nervous. I suppose it could be easier for a parent of a young child and another a bit older who doesnt need as much supervision. We will see!
Linnie Canal Park, Venice
We enjoyed this park this morning! Small, so I can see the whole park at once, and there is a gated off duck pond as well. AWESOME find, thanks to my playgroup buddy.
http://www.laparks.org/dos/parks/facility/canalPk.htm
gated and looks great!
This park is a near sand/grass split. There is a bit of concrete, but not the best spot for push toys.
Parking is NOT ideal, and you may need to park along South Venice. Street cleaning days are Monday and Tuesday
Glen Alla Park, Marina Del Rey
http://www.yelp.com/biz/glen-alla-park-marina-del-rey
We visited this park over the long weekend, and it was jam packed! Too big for me and my two on my own though. I cant see across the whole park. I have the same issue at Playa Vista Sports Park. Awesome park.
Mostly rubber floors with a very cool sand area.
I didnt see any parking lot around, so be sure to watch for street cleaning signs when parking on the streets.
Playa Vista Toddler Park, Playa Vista
There is a totally fenced in toddler park at Villosa and Kiyot, in Playa Vista. Right by the dog park. There are two gate entrances, and one play structure, making it much easier than most parks to keep an eye on two kids and to keep them safe.
The floor is all concrete or that rubberized stuff. There is a small area of grass with a few trees as well.
Parking is on the street, and usually there is plenty available. Always watch for street cleaning signs.
Westchester Recreation Center, Westchester
This park is a good fall back park, for us anyway. It is gated, BUT, there are two facility buildings that open into the play area. It seems like the opening and closing doors are too easy for a toddler to slip in/out of, or some creep to come in through. . . too many openings. Part of the enclosed space goes around a corner too, so its not totally visbile.
This park is mostly sand, in the play area, and has some cement by the buildings.
Parking is available in the lot off of Manchester and Georgetown.
Recreation Park, El Segundo
http://www.yelp.com/biz/recreation-park-el-segundo
Today, we ventured south to El Segundo and found this AWESOME and GATED park! My husband and sister in law came along, but its a totally doable park on my own. Ive noticed that a few of the gated parks I have seen are closed off, which is great, but too big for me to see both boys across. This park was a bit bigger, but small enough that I could stand off to the side and see the entire thing. The play structure is gated to the bottom - read, kids cant fall off the bridge as they run across it, and twin mama here is helping the other kid 2 inches too far to catch the falling one.
There is a sand pit as well, so its a good park for shovels and buckets! There is plenty of concrete as well.
There is a parking lot with ample parking.
Josh Kay's Corn Casserole - not a health conscious recipe:)
One of the first times we had this dish was at Thanksgiving at our house in Texas. OMG SOOOOOOOOO delish!!! Not calorie conscious at all, but SO awesome:)
Thanks for sharing Josh and Shay!!
Corn casserole
1 can corn
1 can cream corn
1 stick butter (softened)
1 box Jiffy Cornbread
1 small sour cream (8 oz I think)
1 bag cheese (topping)
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Place mixture in a Pyrex oven safe dish. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove dish and top with cheese (you don't have to use the whole bag)and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes. It is ready when the dish looks firm on top and brown on the edges.
Thanks for sharing Josh and Shay!!
Corn casserole
1 can corn
1 can cream corn
1 stick butter (softened)
1 box Jiffy Cornbread
1 small sour cream (8 oz I think)
1 bag cheese (topping)
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Place mixture in a Pyrex oven safe dish. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove dish and top with cheese (you don't have to use the whole bag)and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes. It is ready when the dish looks firm on top and brown on the edges.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Sleeping with congestion
We have had some congestion in our house for a while. . . mostly due to teething - evil EVIL molars!!!! Ive read and received suggestions to lift the mattress or crib somehow on one side, but I constantly feel like my kids will just roll to the bottom in a little ball and the lift will serve nothing but to banish them to a corner of their own beds. SO, we pulled out our old wedge pillow - the one we use when ourselves are congested!! E was initially the only one having the issue, so we set him up with the pillow. He seemed to sleep on it quite a bit. We have a video monitor and I can see them both pretty clearly during nap time. (it also has night vision, but is obviously not as good as day time) Soon, N got congested too. We've seen the dr. . . . its just teething yucky-ness. So, off to Bed Bath and Beyond to get another wedge!
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?sku=10060850
Both boys sleep pretty well on their wedges, and I really feel like its been helping with the coughing and post nasal drippage. AND, they have the option of either sleeping on the wedge, or just on the mattress, and no one is stuck in a bottom corner because the whole bed is tilted.
The boys are definitely at the age where we watch for them climbing out of the beds. Their cribs are in an 'L' shape in the corner on their room, and the pillows are in the same corner. My hope is that if they figure out how to use the extra height to climb out, theyll just end up in their brothers crib. . . they are brilliant though, so Im watching closely:)
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?sku=10060850
Both boys sleep pretty well on their wedges, and I really feel like its been helping with the coughing and post nasal drippage. AND, they have the option of either sleeping on the wedge, or just on the mattress, and no one is stuck in a bottom corner because the whole bed is tilted.
The boys are definitely at the age where we watch for them climbing out of the beds. Their cribs are in an 'L' shape in the corner on their room, and the pillows are in the same corner. My hope is that if they figure out how to use the extra height to climb out, theyll just end up in their brothers crib. . . they are brilliant though, so Im watching closely:)
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Scott's Famous (meat) Balls - THE best party recipe ever!!!
We have a wonderful friend back in Texas who introduced us over our stay there, to his balls - his famous meat balls anyway:) It has to be this way. . . its Scott:) The recipe looks bizarre, but I promise, its awesome and sooooooo easy!!!
Shared, with permission :
5 pounds of PLAIN frozen meatballs. Not Italian. Not Swedish. Not Czechoslovakian. Plain.
1 jar of Heinz chili sauce. DO NOT USE GENERIC!!!
1 jar of grape jelly. I think I use Smuckers. I think it's 32 oz.
Make and share all you want!
Shared, with permission :
5 pounds of PLAIN frozen meatballs. Not Italian. Not Swedish. Not Czechoslovakian. Plain.
1 jar of Heinz chili sauce. DO NOT USE GENERIC!!!
1 jar of grape jelly. I think I use Smuckers. I think it's 32 oz.
Make and share all you want!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Winter ickies and stuff
Its been a rough while in our house. . . . before we moved to the new place, the boys each took turns getting sick, so it had already been a while since we got any good sleep. Yikes! Then we moved of course, and they actually did pretty well with the transition, but then they each got sick again. Most recently, N got pink eye and an ear infection - ya, at the same time. I spent several nights sanitizing the surfaces and toys that possibly were infected and days changing N's sheets so he wouldnt reinfect himself, and did prevent the pink eye from spreading to anyone else. . thank goodness! A few days later of course, E had a bad cough in the middle of the night, which prompted me to get him to the ER at about 1am. (he is fine)
I need to premise this part of the story with the fact that hours before we rushed off to the hospital, B and I had our first night time date in quite some time. We have been out on our own a few times, but only during day time hours. I was just too scared of the dark to leave my poor babies alone with anyone else. Why? I have no freaking clue, but I was, and it is what it is. Being that the boys are 18 months, and prior to their birth, I was on bed rest for 15 weeks, I'd say its fair to say we had not been out alone, at night in nearly 2 years. INSANE!!!! I think I even forgot the world kept functioning outside of facebook after 8pm. Pre-babies, we used to sleep until 1 or 2 on weekends and our nights didnt start until 8 or 9, or 7 on an early evening. Now? Thats shut down time!
We had a night time date, in preparation for B's holiday party the following weekend. I needed a practice run closer to home. The party was in downtown LA. . . . why in downtown when the office is so close, I dont know?!?! Its like the party planners needed my blood pressure higher when I arrived or something. . .
We headed out to an old favorite sushi place, about 5 minutes from the house:) I cleaned myself up, wore cute jeans and boots, and even a bit of makeup in honor of the occasion. We had a really nice time. It felt good to be a couple, out to dinner, just us. I had a lot of nervous energy though, without any little people to fuss over and feed. It was a good night though:) We got home, got to bed, and within minutes, E is up crying. He really has a knack for waking up just as we are falling asleep. Nice. . . I got him out of bed, sat on the couch with some milk, and he starts coughing. I hadn;t heard a cough like this one before. It was almost hollow. It seemed to hurt him too:( Of course, I was exhausted, and tried to talk myself out of overreacting and rushing to the ER. I was almost convinced, and he coughed again. With all the junk going around these days, I knew better than to shut out my own intuition - mama really knows best - and we left. B stayed home with N. . . I knew Id need to sleep the next day so one of us needed to get some rest. E cried as I strapped him into the car. Probably because he was so tired and wanted to know why F I was taking him out on the town. All I knew was the last time he cried like that when I strapped him in the carseat was when he was 7 weeks old and couldnt breath because of his acid reflux.
(We didnt know he had any digestive issues. We had taken him to the pedicatrician at least 5 times because he was making a weird noise when he breathed in his sleep in the 2 weeks he had been home - after a 4 week hospital stay, including open heart surgery - HELLO?!?!? and no one diagnosed the acid reflux. ) By the time we were getting him in the car to see the dr. his voice was practically gone and he was starting to change colors. NOT good and VERY SCARY. I sat in the back with E, B drove and we left 7 week old N home with my sister in law who was visiting in town - we were still in Texas. We were heading to the after hours pediatrician, maybe 15 minutes away, but we never made it there. Sitting in the back seat with E, I was horrified. He kept screaming, and the car had always calmed him. . . . all two weeks of his home life anyway. There was a fear in his eyes I didnt recognize and his skin felt balmy. I had B turn into the emergency room, which was literally around the corner from our apartment) I ran him in and told the receptionist he was having a hard time breathing. 2 nurses appeared from nowhere and rushed him off. By now, Id never let ANYONE take my son from me like that, but back then, I trusted nurses far more than myself. His oxygen was down in the 80's, and he had to be transferred back to the hospital where he had his heart surgery. We shared an ambulance ride, and began a 3 day stay at the hospital. The last time my son cried like that in the car seat, my family was torn apart. . . for the third time. Now, at 18 months, that was all I could think about.
As I drove, I debated. . nearby urgent care, or UCLA?? I opted for the urgent care only because it was closer. Our pediatrician told us before that if anything happened, ALWAYS go to UCLA because of their pediatric unit. Urgent care was closed, I began to panic. I called my mother in law, who was (as always) awake, lol. She came with us to UCLA - always UCLA!!! After a few hours of ER time, a happy, cooperative patient, chest xray, flu and rsv tests. . . . the dr. told us E was suffering from reactive airway disease. I can turn into asthma, he can grow out of it. . . here is an inhaler. . . . Thankful and exhausted, we headed home.
We followed up with the pediatrician the following Monday, less than 48 hours since we arrived at the ER. We continued the inhaler for a few more days. NO sleep, NO sleep, NO SLEEP:( We saw the pediatrician for a scheduled appointment a few days ago, and she assured me that his breathing was fine, and that despite matching runny noses, both boys are developing well and are happy, healthy toddlers. She said to expect a runny nose all season. . . really? EWW! That makes it hard to sleep too:(
They each have a wedge pillow, baby vicks and warm humidifier to keep things soft and as comfortable as possible.
Oh, and we went to B's holiday party and had a nice time. We got all dressed up, and hadnt done that in a looooong time!!
I need to premise this part of the story with the fact that hours before we rushed off to the hospital, B and I had our first night time date in quite some time. We have been out on our own a few times, but only during day time hours. I was just too scared of the dark to leave my poor babies alone with anyone else. Why? I have no freaking clue, but I was, and it is what it is. Being that the boys are 18 months, and prior to their birth, I was on bed rest for 15 weeks, I'd say its fair to say we had not been out alone, at night in nearly 2 years. INSANE!!!! I think I even forgot the world kept functioning outside of facebook after 8pm. Pre-babies, we used to sleep until 1 or 2 on weekends and our nights didnt start until 8 or 9, or 7 on an early evening. Now? Thats shut down time!
We had a night time date, in preparation for B's holiday party the following weekend. I needed a practice run closer to home. The party was in downtown LA. . . . why in downtown when the office is so close, I dont know?!?! Its like the party planners needed my blood pressure higher when I arrived or something. . .
We headed out to an old favorite sushi place, about 5 minutes from the house:) I cleaned myself up, wore cute jeans and boots, and even a bit of makeup in honor of the occasion. We had a really nice time. It felt good to be a couple, out to dinner, just us. I had a lot of nervous energy though, without any little people to fuss over and feed. It was a good night though:) We got home, got to bed, and within minutes, E is up crying. He really has a knack for waking up just as we are falling asleep. Nice. . . I got him out of bed, sat on the couch with some milk, and he starts coughing. I hadn;t heard a cough like this one before. It was almost hollow. It seemed to hurt him too:( Of course, I was exhausted, and tried to talk myself out of overreacting and rushing to the ER. I was almost convinced, and he coughed again. With all the junk going around these days, I knew better than to shut out my own intuition - mama really knows best - and we left. B stayed home with N. . . I knew Id need to sleep the next day so one of us needed to get some rest. E cried as I strapped him into the car. Probably because he was so tired and wanted to know why F I was taking him out on the town. All I knew was the last time he cried like that when I strapped him in the carseat was when he was 7 weeks old and couldnt breath because of his acid reflux.
(We didnt know he had any digestive issues. We had taken him to the pedicatrician at least 5 times because he was making a weird noise when he breathed in his sleep in the 2 weeks he had been home - after a 4 week hospital stay, including open heart surgery - HELLO?!?!? and no one diagnosed the acid reflux. ) By the time we were getting him in the car to see the dr. his voice was practically gone and he was starting to change colors. NOT good and VERY SCARY. I sat in the back with E, B drove and we left 7 week old N home with my sister in law who was visiting in town - we were still in Texas. We were heading to the after hours pediatrician, maybe 15 minutes away, but we never made it there. Sitting in the back seat with E, I was horrified. He kept screaming, and the car had always calmed him. . . . all two weeks of his home life anyway. There was a fear in his eyes I didnt recognize and his skin felt balmy. I had B turn into the emergency room, which was literally around the corner from our apartment) I ran him in and told the receptionist he was having a hard time breathing. 2 nurses appeared from nowhere and rushed him off. By now, Id never let ANYONE take my son from me like that, but back then, I trusted nurses far more than myself. His oxygen was down in the 80's, and he had to be transferred back to the hospital where he had his heart surgery. We shared an ambulance ride, and began a 3 day stay at the hospital. The last time my son cried like that in the car seat, my family was torn apart. . . for the third time. Now, at 18 months, that was all I could think about.
As I drove, I debated. . nearby urgent care, or UCLA?? I opted for the urgent care only because it was closer. Our pediatrician told us before that if anything happened, ALWAYS go to UCLA because of their pediatric unit. Urgent care was closed, I began to panic. I called my mother in law, who was (as always) awake, lol. She came with us to UCLA - always UCLA!!! After a few hours of ER time, a happy, cooperative patient, chest xray, flu and rsv tests. . . . the dr. told us E was suffering from reactive airway disease. I can turn into asthma, he can grow out of it. . . here is an inhaler. . . . Thankful and exhausted, we headed home.
We followed up with the pediatrician the following Monday, less than 48 hours since we arrived at the ER. We continued the inhaler for a few more days. NO sleep, NO sleep, NO SLEEP:( We saw the pediatrician for a scheduled appointment a few days ago, and she assured me that his breathing was fine, and that despite matching runny noses, both boys are developing well and are happy, healthy toddlers. She said to expect a runny nose all season. . . really? EWW! That makes it hard to sleep too:(
They each have a wedge pillow, baby vicks and warm humidifier to keep things soft and as comfortable as possible.
Oh, and we went to B's holiday party and had a nice time. We got all dressed up, and hadnt done that in a looooong time!!
Mely's turkey chili
2 lb ground turkey, browned
2 packets chili seasoning
2 32 oz jars of salsa
2 cans chili beans, any flavor
1 32 oz can of kidney beans
crock pot low for 8 hours
*add stewed tomatoes or chopped peppers
Making this for dinner tonight. Its raining, so its a great day for chili! Trying to figure out how to get corn bread in the house without leaving. . hmmmm
I am making this with a couple variations:
chopped 2 onions
only used 1 packet of chili seasoning, and in place of the other, used 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
added 1 can of garbanzo beans (we had it, so i added it in)
looking forward to dinner tonight:)
2 packets chili seasoning
2 32 oz jars of salsa
2 cans chili beans, any flavor
1 32 oz can of kidney beans
crock pot low for 8 hours
*add stewed tomatoes or chopped peppers
Making this for dinner tonight. Its raining, so its a great day for chili! Trying to figure out how to get corn bread in the house without leaving. . hmmmm
I am making this with a couple variations:
chopped 2 onions
only used 1 packet of chili seasoning, and in place of the other, used 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
added 1 can of garbanzo beans (we had it, so i added it in)
looking forward to dinner tonight:)
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Mely's friends meatloaf
saute the garlic, salt and veggies (i used green peppers, mushrooms and carrots. i would have used an onion, but i was out)
combine veggies,
meat,
1 egg,
1 cup parmesean,
1 cup bread crumbs,
a few squirts of mustard
and worcester sauce
mix together add to loaf pan,
spread ketchup on top cook 350 degrees for 1 hour
*******
i used a pound each of turkey and beef, so i doubled the bread crumbs and cheese. it came out SO good! on this first try, i set the oven to 250 instead of 350 by mistake, so it took too long for the kids to try it for dinner. im looking forward to serving it to them tomorrow!!
b and i enjoyed this for dinner though, with sweet potatos on the side, and it was so great! im still full a couple hours later and have been fighting myself away from the fridge to get more!
combine veggies,
meat,
1 egg,
1 cup parmesean,
1 cup bread crumbs,
a few squirts of mustard
and worcester sauce
mix together add to loaf pan,
spread ketchup on top cook 350 degrees for 1 hour
*******
i used a pound each of turkey and beef, so i doubled the bread crumbs and cheese. it came out SO good! on this first try, i set the oven to 250 instead of 350 by mistake, so it took too long for the kids to try it for dinner. im looking forward to serving it to them tomorrow!!
b and i enjoyed this for dinner though, with sweet potatos on the side, and it was so great! im still full a couple hours later and have been fighting myself away from the fridge to get more!
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