Posts from — December 2008

Have you been wondering where I was??  Well, I took a break last week for the holidays and I’ve deicded to change some things up around here.  I’m going to be much more laid back and unpredictable about posting.  I might post on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or I might post only one of those days.  I’m really not going to have a schedule, just a whatever whenever kind of thing.  

As I research topics for myself, I will but that information on here to share with you.  And I’ll probably share interesting articles that I think you might like.  And if I’m reading a parenting book, maybe I’ll share some insights with you.  I’ve got a whole stack of ‘em right now that I need to be reading.

If you don’t want to check my blog all the time to find out if I have indeed written a new post or not, I suggest subscribing to my feed in a reader, and then you’ll always know.  

I would totally love for you to email me questions or things you’ve been wondering about that pertain to parenting or kids and I’ll try to find out more for you.  I’ve got family visiting this week, so don’t look for another post.  I wish you all a Happy New Year!  See ‘ya in 2009!

Did you know that the recommended amount of Vitamin D doses for babies, children, and adolescents recently doubled?  It has increased from 200 IU per day to 400 IU per day.  Some supplements already have this amount, but ours doesn’t.  Have you checked yours?  Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin, and it’s produced naturally when the body reacts to sunlight.  Dr. Mercola recommends getting 15 minutes of direct sunlight per day on as much of your skin as possible to help get this important vitamin.  

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to rickets, growth failure, lethargy, irritability, respiratory infections during infancy, and osteoporosis later in life.  Here is an interesting exceprt from an article at BabyCenter:

“Among rheumatologists who treat patients with autoimmune diseases, there has been an increasing recognition that insufficiency in vitamin D may contribute to a variety of autoimmune diseases,” said Dr. Nora G. Singer, a pediatric rheumatologist at Case Western Reserve University’s Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, in Cleveland. “If [vitamin D deficiency] really does impact innate immunity or the first line of immune defense, then maybe some of the increase in autoimmune diseases we’re seeing could relate to this.”

Vitamin D, according to Greer, is not actually a vitamin at all but a hormone. “It acts directly on cells to promote gene transcription,” he explained. “No other ‘vitamin’ does this, so it really is very, very powerful.”

So what do you do in the winter months when you can’t get the sunshine?  For breastfeeding moms, Dr. Mercola recommends either a Vitamin D supplement for your baby, or yourself, to pass through your milk.  Older children and adolescents can also take supplements.  

I recommend these helpful articles, if you’d like to know more.

For breastfeeding mother and infants:  Kelly Mom has a great article.  They even have some information from research done in Canada, since it’s very cold there and there is little sun exposure.  This is a must read if you’re currently nursing! (It’s an older article, and still has the 200 IU/ day recommendation, but the research is still great and very helpful.

Breakthrough Articles You Need to Know on Vitamin D - A great article on Vitamin D, where to get it and the risks of deficiency.

Mom’s Vitamin D Levels Affect Baby’s Dental Health - Read this to know how to  make sure you’re getting your baby the Vitamin D he or she needs for healthy teeth.

FDA Urges Pregnant Women to Comsume More Mercury -Laced Foods
Umm, I think I’ll stick with NOT eating more mercury-lace foods, especially if I was pregnant!   

hand-me-downs.com
Wow!  A cool site of classifieds for moms!  You can buy, sell, give away, or donate your new or gently used baby gear, clothing, toys, childcare services, and more!  Check ‘em out!

Celebrate Simply From Your Kitchen
Some great, easy recipes that Simplemom, Tsh, has compiled for you.  Check ‘em out.

Johnny and I have a lot of VHS and mini-DV tapes in drawers in our house.  We have video of high school basketball games and graduation, our wedding, college graduation, and LOTS of home video footage.  After our first baby was born, we of course did a lot of videoing.  We bought some software to convert the mini-DV tapes to DVD.  We then proceeded to reuse the mini-DV tapes.  That means we recorded over the original footage.  NEVER to that.  And I repeat, NEVER do that.

For some reason, we didn’t actually watch any of the DVDs to find out the quality of our conversions.  It was VERY poor.  And we no longer had the originals because we had recorded over them.  It still makes me sick to think about it.  We’ve been trying to find a better way to convert these VHS and mini-DV ever since.  We mainly want to have them saved on our hard drive so that we can back them up and keep them safe.  So if our house were to burn, or something else tragic, we do have the copies saved somewhere else. We use Mozy and would recommend it to anyone!

So needless to say when I was contacted about trying out VHS to DVD 3.0 Deluxe by Honestech, I was very hopeful and excited about what this program could do for me.  Here’s what we thought about using it:

• It was very easy to install



• The included hardware was also easy to use.  It comes with a small video capture device that connect to the computer via a USB 2.0 cable.  I allows both RCA and S-Video input connections. We used the RCA cable that came with our video camera.
• We used Advanced Mode because we wanted to save it on our hard drive.
• The max recording time is 24 hours, which is PLENTY!
• We put in our mini-DV tape that we wanted to copy and pushed play on the camera, and the record on the computer.
• The default options were all right where we would have put them; best quality, split size (seperate, smaller files, instead of one huge one), and DVD format.

The quality of the video on our computer is great.  So, we burned it onto a DVD, which was super simple.  It took an hour or so to burn, but the results…..oh, the results.  We put the DVD into our player to watch it on the TV.  The quality was terrific!  I thought it looked like the uncut footage on a documentary.  Johnny compared the DVD to watching the footage directly from the miniDV through our video camera.  He says the quality straight from the miniDV may be a little better, but only slightly.  

I’m so excited that we finally have a reliable way to make copies of our home videos!!  If you’ve been looking for something to help you put your home videos onto DVD, I highly recommend this VHS To DVD 3.0 Deluxe. 

Some of the other really cool programs this company makes are Audio Recorder 2.0 Deluxe and Claymation Studio V2.0.   The Studio Recorder program is for converting analog music such as cassettes, LPs, and 8-tracks to MP3s and audio CDs.  Claymation Studio is a fun program to create your own stop-motions movies.  Sounds like it would be great for older kids who are interested in making videos!

Have you  heard about this great SmartMom jewelry yet?  I have been coveting it since I first saw it several months ago.  I wanted some Teething Bling for Nathaniel who was chewing my non-chewable necklaces until the finish came off.  (That can’t be good!)

So when I saw these products, which are made from silicone that is phthalate, BPA, PVC, and lead free, non-toxic, and dish-washer safe, I was VERY excited!  I never bought myself one, though I should have.  Their current line includes necklaces with either a donut or heart shaped pendant, bangles, and keychains.  And they have plenty of colors to choose from too!

Anyway, I acutally just won a set that includes a donut shaped pendant and bangle in their new holiday color sugarplum, which is on sale right now!  If you purchace the sugarplum pendant, you get the bangle free! This is a December special, so you better head over there and get one if you want it!  Or, if you’re interested in a different color, Mom4Life has all of their SmartMom products on sale 20% off, and they always have free shipping!  Just search for Smart Mom and the products should come up.

My set came in a pretty little purple organza pouch, ready for gift giving.  The products are high quality and VERY cute!  This could be a great stocking stuffer for either a pregnant mom, or a mom who currently has a chewer.  Or maybe even put it in the chewer’s stocking!!

Since we no longer eat cereal for breakfast, sometimes it’s hard for me to come up with easy breakfast ideas.  I guess I should add that I’d like them to also be healthy ideas.  There are lots of easy options out there.  Whether or not they’re healthy is a whole other thing.

I’ve been alternating breakfast burritos, oatmeal (the recipe from Deceptively Delicious), and smoothies.  But now since the weather is colder, smoothies aren’t a very good choice since we’re all freezing after consuming them!

Some of the ideas for an alternative are muffins, pancakes, french toast, and I’d love some more, if you’ve got any!  None of those are really that quick.  Breakfast burritos and oatmeal take me about 10-15 minutes to prepare from start to finish.

I ran across this recipe which seems like a great idea for refrigerator muffins.  Have you ever tried them?  You can mix up the batter and leave it in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.  Whenever you want muffins, you just get out the batter and fill your muffin tin.  That’s a pretty quick option.  The only problem I have is that the recipe has 3 cups of sugar in it.  It does make a very large batch, since it’s for having a lot on hand whenever you want to use it.  But that just seems like a lot of sugar.  I’ve baked with honey before but it always seems to have a bit of a funny taste to me.

One night this week I decided to mix up my muffin batter before I went to bed, and stick it in the fridge.  In the morning I made my muffins very quickly since all I had left to do was preheat the oven and pour the batter into the muffin tin.  

I’m open for options.  Since my husband eats breakfast with us too, he’s not really up for an english muffin with peanut butter on it.  Not very filling for him, I guess.  I bought some today, but I’ll do a sort of egg McMuffin thing with them.  That’s easy, but a little expensive in my opinion, since it uses almost the whole package of english muffins.  

Got any ideas for me?

Taking the Homeopathic Route for Cold and Flu Season
Need a couple of safe products for younger babies and children?  Here are some great ideas! 

Gift Card Boxes
I LOVE this free pattern and instruction sheet from Heather Bailey on how to made little boxes for those gift cards you have under your tree! How cute and creative!

And, here is an excerpt from my Organic Consumer Association newsletter that I would like to share with you.

Tip of the Week:  How to Avoid Genetically Engineered Sugar This Holiday Season

Over the past year, Organic Bytes has warned its readers about the forced introduction of genetically engineered sugar beets into the U.S. food supply in 2008. The health and environmental effects of these crops are relatively unknown and have historically resulted in an increase in pesticide use. Most of the mainstream table sugar, cereal and candy companies have refused to ban genetically engineered sugar in their products, including American Crystal and Kelloggs. While OCA and its allies continue to work to remove this new biotech food from the mainstream market, before it becomes as ubiquitous as genetically engineered corn, soybeans and rBGH, we have some tips for consumers:       1) Purchase organic sugar. The USDA organic standards do not allow foods labeled as “organic” to contain ingredients derived from genetically engineered crops. 2) According to Ken Roseboro, the editor of The Organic & Non-GMO Report, two non-organic sugar companies that are still GE-free are Spreckels Sugar in California and Rogers Sugar Alberta, Canada. Spreckels is processing non-GMO beets because sugar beet farmers in California do not yet have GM sugar beet seed varieties. According to Roseboro, “I spoke with the plant manager and he said farmers would plant GM varieties as soon as they are available possibly by next year. Unless farmers are given extra incentives to grow non-GMO beets they will grow GM.”  Maybe it’s a good time to contact the company and let them know you’d like them to stay GE-free. 3) The OCA is continuing its campaign to pressure major sugar and candy companies to use GE-free sugar.

I thought I’d do a stocking stuffer/product review post since I know several people who are trying to get all their stocking stuffers done.  Here are a few of our favorite small toys that would fit just right into a stocking.

First up – The First Years Stack n Count Cups.  These cups are cheap and my kids have loved them.  We have played with them in so many different ways – stack ‘em up, nest ‘em, spin ‘em around on our wood floors, play with ‘em in the tub, cover your eyes, cover your ears…you get the picture.  Cheap fun!!  These are about $3.99 at Babies R Us.

If you haven’t already bought some of these little Tonka Wheel Pals, they are another great item.  Our boys have a ton of them and love to play all over the house with them.  They have police cars, fire trucks, tow trucks, race cars.  And they come in a small or medium size.  The smaller ones come in packs of 5 for around $8 and the medium sized ones are about $4 each.

Looking for a couple of good little books for a stocking?  Here are a couple of our favorites.  Open the Barn Door by Christopher Santoro or Cars and Trucks from A to Z by Richard Scarry.  Open the Barn Door has a little door to open on each page, and it’s a great book for learning which sounds go with which animal.  Cars and Trucks book is just a book of silly types of cars and trucks from A to Z.  These are chunky board books and would slip into a stocking very nicely. Burt’s Bees Bubblebath is another favorite around here, and it’s phthalate and paraben free.  

And, if you’re looking for a treat, Fruitabu is a good option.  The twirls are easier to chew than the smooshed fruit.

Hope this gives you some ideas for your little one’s stocking.  I love stockings and can’t wait to put all the goodies in them this year!

This weekend one of our Advent calendar activities was “Make Christmas cookies and watch Charlie Brown’s Christmas”. Gabriel was pretty excited about this one!

This is something we enjoy doing every year. I’ve got the recipe and cookie cutters all ready. But this year I decided to use a different recipe. I had recently gotten a cookie recipe from Johnny’s Memaw that her grandmother made when she was a little girl. I thought it would be pretty special to use that recipe, and they turned out great. At this point in my life, decorating cookies is not an easy thing to do, so we use sprinkles. Maybe next year Gabriel will be ready to try some icing.

Here we are making our cookies…

After we were done with the cookies the boys watched Charlie Brown’s Christmas. Nathaniel lasted about 2 minutes and then went to go play.

Need a Christmas cookie recipe? Here’s the one I normally use that I won second prize with in a high school 4-H contest:

Traditional Sugar Cookies

3/4 c butter
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1 t salt

Mix thoroughly butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Blend in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

Heat oven to 400. Roll dough 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes or until very light brown.

When Gabriel was a tiny baby I felt like I needed an instruction manual for him!  I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who feel that way with their first baby.  I really like to know what is best and try to do it if I can.  I read attachment parenting methods and didn’t like all that I saw, I read Baby Wise methods and didn’t like all of those methods either.  I can’t remember how I ran across the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child book, but I can tell you, it helped me SO much!

This book is based on much research, so I know it is not just an opinion or idea, I think that is what I like most about it.  All of the things I wanted to know about how much and when Gabriel should sleep were in this book.  Now, I knew…

• the signs to look for when Gabriel was getting sleepy
• the times of day when it’s most easy for babies and children to fall asleep and stay asleep
• how to help him get quality sleep, not just quantity
• that it was okay to rock him, or nurse him to sleep if I wanted to
• that it was okay for him to cry sometimes to learn to self soothe (after a certain age)
• the nap schedule he needed to be on
• what an acceptable bed time was

I can’t begin to tell you how much this book helped me.  My life suddenly felt so much less chaotic than before.  And Gabriel was SO much happier and well rested.

I will tell you though, we’re some of the only ones I know that put their children to bed at 7.  Yes, I said 7.  What time do they wake up?  Well, 7.  Yep, 12 hours later.  Gabriel has started going to bed at 7:30 now that he is a little older, and if there is a special circumstance he can stay up later, but that is his normal bedtime. They also both take about a 2 hour nap in the afternoon.  The early bedtime is probably harder for people who have 2 working parents, or like to do a lot of night activites.  We are neither of those, and we enjoy our time together in the evenings after the kids are asleep.  It gives us time together everyday to talk, which is really nice.

Nathaniel hasn’t been as good of a sleeper as Gabriel until lately.  I was able to start using the methods in this book earlier with him because I already  knew what I was doing.  He learned to go to sleep on his own very early on, without crying too much at all.  I can tell a big difference in their behavior when they don’t get the sleep they need too.  They are much whinier, their attention spans are shorter, and they’re just generally harder to get along with.

Another thing that I really love about this book is that it can fit so many different styles of parenting.  He mentions how to use his methods with co-sleeping and the family bed as well as baby in their own crib in their room.  I’m also so very thankful for his gentler approach to crying it out.  He tells you when a baby is too young for that, and then he also tells you how long you should let an older baby cry, and when.  It is hard to let your baby cry it out sometimes, but we’ve found that when we continue to answer their cries endlessly, the crying is also endless.

If you’re looking to put some order back in your life, and your baby’s, then I highly recommend this book.  It has been a huge help to me in knowing what to expect, sleep-wise, at every age of my children.