Favorite Store Bought Organic Snacks for Baby – 8 mo+

by on ·Babies and Kids, Lifestyle, Uncategorized

If you haven’t noticed by now, I opt for organic foods when it comes to my family, especially my son.  His breakfast, lunch and dinner are all comprised of natural, non-gmo, organic produce, poultry, yogurt, etc., so naturally, the snacks I give him are no different.  Granted, several of these items can be given to your babes as early as they are crawling, they still make their way onto my list of favorite organic snacks even now that Kaden is 9 months old to take with us whenever we are on the go – they are convenient, nutritious, and equally as important - my son enjoys them.  Remember to always use discretion when choosing foods for your specific, special, little person – you know better than anyone else just how well your child can chew (or gum) different foods, and these snacks are no different when choosing which to feed them.

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Whole Roasted Chicken

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I have been trying this new thing of eating at home and so far it has been working. One thing I have realized in the “cook at home endeavor” is making foods that are toddler and baby happy. Also, I have to plan things out so I can maximize the meat product. I have found that whole roasted chicken is super simple and does not take too much prep time. It is also healthy and a crowed pleaser. Before I get to what else you can do with left over chicken here is how I make awesome whole roasted chicken, SIMPLE AND EASY with only 5 ingredients .

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The Best HONESTLY All-Natural Deodorants to Use While Breastfeeding

by on ·Babies and Kids, Lifestyle

At my son’s 4 week checkup, our physician’s assistant and I exchanged our typical question and answer dialogue beyond Kaden’s physical exam - as was the norm given my paranoia as a first time mother.  “Is he gaining weight appropriately?”, “His belly button is still kind of dark – is it okay?”, “…Is that much spit up normal?” It’s an endless barrage of questions that our sweet PA very sweetly and patiently answers for me at each visit, although I can often tell she is biting at the bit to run out of the room to her other waiting patients.  At this particular checkup there was one subject we were discussing that ultimately ended in her uttering the following words: “Well, of course you should be using all-natural deodorant if you are breastfeeding”.

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Organic Coconut Flour & Almond Butter Baby Pancakes - 8 months +

by on ·Babies and Kids, Recipes, Uncategorized

The other morning my son woke up just like he had the day before.  He smiled at me with that 6 toothed grin, reached for me with immense anticipation to remove him from his four-poster prison [crib], and even snuggled my shoulder like he did every morning before.  I changed his overnight diaper and walked him downstairs to play with his toys in front of the TV glaring Disney Junior – a daily distraction while I made my necessary morning coffee – just like I had the morning before, and each morning prior to that since I could remember.  And like every morning since Kaden turned 4 months old, I popped a frozen, organic pear mold from our silicone food container, mixed in a tablespoon of his oatmeal, added in a couple drops of Vitamin D, his probiotic and a dash of cinnamon and proceeded to set up my little man in his highchair and bib.  Only something came to a crashing halt in our otherwise daily ritual – my child refused to eat his food.  Breakfast was always a meal he successfully ate in full, but not that day.  Weird.  Then at lunch he refused to eat his favorite pureed butternut squash.  And at dinner… I don’t think I need to go on.

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Ikea Hack Easel

by on ·Babies and Kids, Home Decor

I love Ikea. Usually I get overwhelmed with so many choices, but Ikea is laid out so well that it’s easy for me to say “yes” or “no” to specific items. Ikea “hacks” are super popular since it’s so easy to take their items and upgrade them. I have done this to multiple pieces in my house.

We posted in our Holiday Gift Guide for One Year Olds that one of our top picks was the Ikea MALA Easel. For $14.99 it is an AMAZING deal, especially when you compare it to the Land of Nod’s  Artist Portrait Easel at $149.00 or Melissa and Doug’s Standing Art Easel at $52.99. Neither one is customizable to fit your little one’s room, or your house. I honestly can’t say that the IKEA easel is much better; however, at $9.99, the customizing you can do with this piece to make it special is well worth it.

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Organic Pasta, Mixed Veggie & Sweet Potato Puree – 8 Months +

by on ·Babies and Kids, Recipes

According to my pediatrician, the average 6- to 10-month old should be eating at least 4 tablespoons of grains or cereals each day.  Admittedly, upon entering his 8 month birthday, I had only been feeding my son a tablespoon of his Earth’s Best Organic Oatmeal Cereal each morning and the occasional Happy Baby Teether when we are on the go.  Although I am aware of how important whole grains are for an adult, I naively prepared my child’s meals without taking into consideration just how important the absent food group was; whole grains and cereals are critical for sustaining your infant’s energy levels.  They contain important B complex vitamins, zinc, magnesium and fiber – important not only to maintain a healthy digestive system and prevent constipation, but also a necessary component to build a healthy immune system.

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3 Most Effective Things to Do to Increase Breast Milk Supply

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This topic took a couple months for me to truly hit the nail on head.  I have had one son.  So I have had one experience with breastfeeding, and for the most part, it has been a positive one.  But in the beginning, while your boobs are trying to figure out just how much milk they need to be producing to sustain your hungry child, it can be rather challenging to understand exactly what needs to be done in your diet to ensure you never run low on milk… baby’s feeding schedules can be fickle, and it’s important to be prepared.  I’ve read pages and pages of advice on how to increase my milk supply, but in the end, these three things worked the best for both my sister and I.

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Top 4 Favorite CERTIFIED Organic Red Wines

by on ·Lifestyle, Uncategorized

As Christmas quickly approaches, and everyone is losing their minds over last minute gift shopping, dinner preparations and the like, there is yet another aspect of the holiday season that most adults have no problem remembering: the bar menu.  Most of us have already decided on what our holiday cocktail will be, and while many will be sipping Winter White Cosmos, Cinnamon Whiskey shooters or a bit of bubbly, my favorite Christmas dinner drink is typically a delicious glass (or 2) of red wine.

As a mother, I choose only all-natural and organic items for my son.  In doing my own research for my child, I have also learned quite a bit about my own health and well-being, and I was surprised to find out just how good and good for you organic wine is (in comparison to the conventional variety).  Do I still indulge in non-organic wines every so often?  Yes… but the more I learn and taste different organic wines, the more I opt for them when choosing a bottle at the store.

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Immune-Boosting Chicken, Parsnip & Butternut Squash Puree

by on ·Babies and Kids, Recipes

With the flu season upon us, I know several mommies—including myself—who are on the lookout for immune-boosting foods to feed their kiddos in hopes that they will dodge the flu-bullet this winter.  Lucky for me, my son enjoys many of those immunity building ingredients, but there was one in particular that caught my eye, and my curiosity, at the grocery store: the parsnip.

I am always looking to add new and different fruits and vegetables to Kaden’s diet in attempts to broaden his taste-palate (crossing my fingers that I will not end up with a picky eater… but, we all know that road can lead anywhere), and I placed one of these funny bugle-shaped vegetables into my cart hoping that it would be a winner in both taste, as well as flu-fighting benefits.  Once again, luck was upon me, and we will be adding this nutrient rich root veggie to Kaden’s food throughout the flu season (it’s best in the winter months).

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DIY Ugly (Cute) Christmas Sweater - for Kids!

by on ·Babies and Kids, Fashion

When did festive, ‘ugly’, Christmas sweaters become a tradition in the otherwise innocent and cheery holiday that is Christmas?  I didn’t attend my first Ugly Christmas Sweater party until I was 25 years old, but apparently, I’ve missed out on several years of weird and unusual Christmas sweater-wearing each passing holiday season prior.  Despite never attending one prior to my 25th year of life, I took the DIY Christmas sweater agenda on for both myself and my husband (boyfriend at the time) pretty intensely when we were invited to our first.  I think I made our matching sweaters in one day, working hard into the night, stressing over every detail.  Our sweaters came out more cute than ugly, but the glued on string of lights made it all worth while, and every detail of each character was something I felt especially proud of.

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