Check out this link,
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/recipes.asp?recipe=22525
I doubled this recipe earlier this week. We added chopped mushrooms and chopped yellow, orange and red peppers. The recipe was a bit skimpy on the balsamic vinegar, and I added olive oil since everything else was doubled - it was needed to sautee more stuff. came out GREAT!!! our friend and her toddler were staying with us for a few days, and all three kids ate this dinner very well. N picked out all the black beans and ate those!!
I made and doubled the recipe again tonight, and added mushrooms, but forgot about the sundried tomatoes. Still VERY good, and my boys did well with this dish. This was especially thrilling since they have been teething/sick/picky the last few days.
Both times, we added brown rice - the kind you heat up in a bag for 3 minutes from the freezer. Leftovers are awesome in a tortilla. . . . definitely looking forward to lunch tomorrow:)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
'Fiesta Tuna Salad!'
I figure Ill call it that when the kids are old enough to know what it is. . . I made some tuna this afternoon, and used my lovely hand chopper to finely chop a red, yellow and orange pepper, some carrots and some cucumber. Add to tuna, DONE! SUPER yummy, very pretty and an easy way to sneak veggies into the kids, and even me:)
drain tuna can
add mayo or whatever you use
chop veggies finely
add to tuna, mix well
enjoy!
drain tuna can
add mayo or whatever you use
chop veggies finely
add to tuna, mix well
enjoy!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
A couple things I might have done differently. . .
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:)
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:)
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:)
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