Exciting Breakfast

Oatmeal is a great food for breakfast- it offers fiber, protein and lots of other good nutrients. But sometimes it can get a little boring. Here's a quick and easy way to jazz it up and get an extra serving of fruit inside your kid.

Start off by cooking one serving of oatmeal. I recommend Kashi GoLean Creamy Truly Vanilla Instant Oatmeal. It has 9 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber in one serving and it cooks in the microwave. Then get a few cubes of frozen homemade baby food that are any combination of fruit. My favorite to use is apple blueberry for the color and the antioxidants of the blueberries.
Plop the fruit cubes in and watch them melt.

Your child will love watching the colors swirl into the oatmeal.
The fruit cubes cool the oatmeal down so your child can eat sooner and it naturally sweetens the oatmeal.

A variation on this for an older child or one that is capable of eating different textures is to use a bag of frozen berries or frozen fruit. I recommend Trader Joe’s Frozen Organic blueberries or Trader Joe’s Frozen mixed berry blend. Simply sprinkle a serving of frozen fruit on top of the oatmeal and stir. The frozen berries will produce the same results as the fruit cubes both cooling and coloring the oatmeal.

-Posted By: Bethany Sebra

Baby Food

Blend your own delicious and nutritious baby food~ no added colors, preservatives or sugars ... plus it is fun!
Make simple one food purees in a food processor, or combine foods you are sure your baby enjoys and is not allergic to.
One of our family favorites is peeled apples, a little banana for taste & texture and enough water to make the mixture smooth.
Puree until well blended - more smooth for children starting solids and more coarse as your little one advances his solid food intake.
Set aside as much food as your child will eat that day, and freeze the remainder in ice-cube trays.
Cover the trays with a top or saran wrap to avoid freezer burn, spilling and contamination. Once thoroughly frozen, pop cubes out and freeze in labeled freezer bags for easy use and storage.

Bead It Up!

Here are a few ways you can use everyday beads to accessorize your little one:

1. Pacifier clip: make a loop in one end to attach to the pacifier and attach the other beaded end to a clip to latch on to baby's clothes. You can also make personalized clip holders with your favorite ribbon and a little Velcro. For pacifiers with loop holders, simply loop the beads or ribbon through the loop. Or, buy a simple attachment for pacifiers without holders.

2. Stretch bracelets: use stretchy bead wire to make a bracelet for your little one. This way you don't have to be as exact on sizing, and it is easy to get on and off flapping arms.

3. Clasp bracelets: measure your baby's wrist by making a circle with your thumb and forefinger. Adjust wire size appropriately and make allowance for the clasp.

*Always use very sturdy string or wire - if the beads break they could cause a choking hazard.

Natural Teethers

Here's a naturally delicious way to soothe your baby's teething crave ...

. Give baby sturdy fruits and vegetables to hold and suck on, like carrots, bell-peppers and apples.

Keep a close eye on your child to make sure a piece does not accidentally break off and cause a choking hazard.

My kids prefer fruits and vegetables to plastic teething toys. Plus, sucking on food rather than commercial teethers may stimulate taste-buds and help your child be more adventurous with food in the future.

Other suggestions:

1. Ashton & Parsons infants' powder, 'For Teething with a Smile." Wow! Does this stuff work and it is totally natural. The draw-back? It is difficult to find ... I bought mine in the London Heathrow airport ... here is a website that says they're in stock: boots.com

2. This is a great contraption built off of the al'natural idea. Plus, it eliminates the choking hazard and you can freeze the food - so your little ones gums will be even more relieved!

Wipe with Style

Turn your ordinary baby wet-wipes container into a diaper bag statement piece.
You'll need: a hot glue-gun, batting, fabric, ribbon and embelishments.
1. Hot glue batting to both sides of container - cut so batting barely reaches sides.
2. Hot glue fabric on top of batting, trip around edges. It is ok if there is not a perfect edge, since the finishing ribbon will cover uneven sides.
3. Hot glue decorative thick ribbon across one third of container.
4. Hot glue thin ribbon around sides of both top and bottom.
5. Add embelishments (gems, flowers, buttons) to top thick decorative ribbon.

What to do with those left over Christmas Cards

Make a photo album of left over family pictures. Children love to look at faces and recognize family and friends. Plus, no guilt if the pictures get ruined, since you would have probably thrown them away.

Other ideas:

1. make a bulletin board of pictures

2. string cards as drapes above windows

3. display cards on closed mini-blinds

We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do. We've Got Spirit, How About You?

Raising a toddler is hard work ... especially when they are "spirited," a term Ambyr uses to describe her active son.

Do parents with more-active-than-usual two-year-old carry anything special in a diaper bag?"A notepad for me to write things down on," Ambyr says, "and Luke loves to scribble on paper. Nail clippers, just in case. And of course, our favorite train, plane and auto-mobile."

Ambyr chose this Skip*Hop diaper bag because she likes the clips that attach to a stroller, and the messenger style bag.

"Parents of spirited children may find themselves in a Catch-22," Ambyr explains. "They want to get out with their children to help socialize their child, but they hesitate because their child doesn't play well with other kids."

Ambyr says getting out, joining a play-group or attending a mommy-and-me class is essential. "It takes a lot of pride swallowing," she explains, "because when your child miss-behaves other people really don't understand what it is like to be in your shoes."

So, what to do?

#1. One solution Ambyr offers is to start a play-group.

When her son was little, she organized a group of moms to meet weekly and rotate from house to house. "I loved that time," Ambyr says. "I loved talking with other moms and I loved having Luke play with other kids his own age."

As the children grew, the play-group moved to the park.

Recently Ambyr began an "ABC" school. "Basically it's a play-group with a purpose," she says. Once a week the children meet at some one's home and learn about a letter in the alphabet.

"My son wasn't ready for pre-school, and neither was I," admits says. "So when a friend mentioned this to me, I knew it was something I could do and wanted to start."

#2. Try a play-based class:

Ambyr formerly enrolled Luke in a "Little Hands" co-op program. "It was a great way for both of us to learn about socializing and kids," Ambyr says.

Now Ambyr and Luke enjoy a play-based art class together.

#3. Do things outside!

"It can be stressful trying to figure out what are appropriate activities," Ambyr explains. "We can not make it through story time at the library, and Luke does not like to sit still for long. The park is a great place to get out energy."

Book Suggestions:

Preschool Amanac by Ann Stiefel

The Blessings of a Skinned Knee by Wendy Mogel

Wonder of Boys by Michael Gurian

Raising a Son by Don Elium and Jeanne Elium