{Bountiful Baskets} Hidden Veggie Recipes for Kids

Here are some recipes and inspirations for you to help your kiddos to eat more veggies!!

THE PRODUCE
Bananas
Mango
Strawberries
Mini Watermelon
Pineapple
Red Potatoes
Green Onions
Broccoli
Celery
Tomatoes
Romain Lettuce

INSPIRATIONS
Strawberry Banana Kabobs

Watermelon Wedges on a Stick

Roasted Potato Shapes

Mashed Potato Volcano

 
Stoplight Celery Sticks

Celery Bugs

Pretzel/Celery Butterflies

Gone Fishin'

Celery Trains

Lettuce Boats (stuffed with taco meat, meatballs, BBQ chicken strips...)

RECIPES
Fruit Leather
Real Fruit - Homemade Fruit Snacks
Homemade Yogurt with Real Fruit Purée
Pizza Salad with Tomato Vinegarette
Hidden Broccoli Mac & Cheese
Broccoli Pesto
Broccoli Cheese Soup
BLT Stuffed Tomatoes
Homemade Tomato Soup (serve with goldfish crackers)
Loaded Potato Fries

MORE SNEAKY IDEAS {Mix finely diced, shredded or puréed veggies into...}
Pasta (Spaghetti, Lasagna, Ravioli...)
Casseroles
Burgers
Sloppy Joes
Taco Meat
Quesadillas
Mac and Cheese (even the boxed stuff)
Meatballs
Meatloaf
Pizza (under the cheese)
Muffins & Sweet Breads

A FEW MORE TIPS
Serve them with something to DIP (Ranch, cheese, etc)
Make them FINGER FOODS
Let the PLAY with their food by serving them in a creative way
Set a GOOD EXAMPLE - if mom and dad eat veggies, they will too (eventually)

PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD {Crafts from the Scraps}
Potato Stamps

Celery Rose Stamps

Celery Science

Making Monster Shadows

We made shadow monsters this morning! My four year old loved helping me imagine a monster to cut out complete with a spiked tail and three eyes. After cutting out his creation we played with shadows in the bathroom (the only room with no windows). He had so much fun making the monster "grow" on the wall. My toddler even got in on the fun. If your kiddos are scared of monsters you could cut out funny faces, animals or robots.

Simple Earth Day Craft for Preschoolers

Here is a quick and easy Earth Day craft for you and your child today!!

SUPPLIES:
Heavy white paper
Green crayon or pastels
Blue water color
Cotton balls
Glue

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Draw a large circle for your child. Have them draw and color large odd shaped circles and ovals inside the circle for the land of the earth.
2. Have your child paint the entire circle and white space with the blue water colors.
3. Pull apart cotton balls into thin wisps to make clouds. Once the paint has dried glue the cotton wisps to the Earth.

How To Host a Busy Bag Swap

I asked a friend for advice on how to keep my kids entertained during "the witching hour" at our house and she suggested busy bags. Well if you know me when I get an idea I run with it and I am super excited to say that now a group that was started on a whim is in our fifth consecutive month of swapping these amazing educational bags for our kiddos! Below you will find my advice on how to host your own swap and tips that we have learned along the way. HAPPY SWAPPING!!

1. Pick a date & location
We meet in a conference room at the local library but you also enjoy meeting at the park when it is warm or make a playdate out of it and meet at someone's house.

2. Set a deadline to sign up

Set your deadline for people to sign up with an activity at least one week prior to the swap date to give everyone time to assemble their bags to swap.

3. Set some guidelines/age limits
Some things that we have found helpful are

• Our group is most popular for toddlers (1-3) and preschoolers (3-5). We also have tried swapping for babies (0-1) and elementary (5-8) though these haven't been as popular
• Allow people the freedom to choose their own activities to encourage all levels of creativity (Pintrest is the number one place I use to find ideas, but you can also search on google)
• Keep track of what activities are being done so you don't get doubles
• Limit the number who can sign up. Our limit is 10/age category. This provides us with a large variety of activities without getting too expensive
• Set a budget range. Let people know ahead of time that they should expect to spend between $10-$25 (or whatever amout you decide) per set of activities they make. This encourages them to choose quality materials but not overspend.

4. Advertise
Word of mouth is always best, but some other ideas to help you find people to sign up would be to leave a flyer at your local library, church or play area, or create a facebook event for people to join and invite others.


TIPS for swapping on a regular basis

• Keep track of what has been done in the past and set a guideline for the frequency an activty may be repeated. For example, once lacing cards have been done they may not be done again for 2 or 3 months. Consider exceptions that are group favorites or may wear out more quickly.
• Vary the activities you receive and encourage group crativity by providing monthly themes! Some that we have done in the past are...Eric Carle, Travel/Road Trip Activities, Springtime and Dinosaurs. One theme that we are excited to do this summer is "Just Add Water: Activites for outdoor play or in the tub"
• Share ideas, websites and resources! Once you have found your activity, share where you got it from. Plus there may be some that don't get done that you might want to come back to!!

{Orange Rhino Challenge} UPDATE

Well, it has been 23 days since I commited to stop yelling at my kids with The Orange Rhino Challage. Today I am on Day 2 (my kids behaved yesterday and spent most of the afternoon playing downstairs). I am writting to encourage you because as I quickly realized that this is going harder than I thought it would be. Late afternoons are super hard for us - my kids are whiney, I am tired, they don't listen so I yell. After having to start over, well about 20 times, my accountability partner and I realized that maybe it might be better to focus on a trigger to start with rather than an entire day. Genious!! Take the day off from the challenge to put a fly on the wall so to speak --- watch yourself and notice when you are most likely to yell. These are (a few) of my triggers...

• When the house get so messy I start to step on toys (especially in the kitchen at dinnertime)
• When my four year old gets hyper and acts so silly that he won't do what I've asked him to
• When my two year old thrown toys or dumps out the crayon box
• When I have to ask them to do things over and over
• When they talk back or whine when I say no

So yesterday, after a REALLY bad day the night before I decided to focus on just one thing for each child. And what I found was the entire day got better - I didn't yell yesterday, not even once. I did feel the urge once or twice - so the day wasn't a complete fluke.

Even as I am writting this and looking at my list of triggers I am beginning to realize that my kids may not be the issue - but me. When I look at my list from a perspective of TRUTH and LOVE this is what I find...

• Messy house: Kids ARE messy! This is the season of life that we are in and I should be thankful that my home is filled with noise and toys because this too shall pass and one day they will be out of my home and I will wish they were still here.
• Hyper kids: I have boys - boys are loud, and what a party-pooper am I to squash his fun and natural sense of humor. I need to loosen up!
• Throwing/Dumping toys on the floor: Really - he's two and learning about the way the world works...how things fly and things fall. I need to provide a more constructive outlet for his desire to learn, get down on the floor and play with him. Fill a bin with rice and show him how it falls from a cup. Or throw a ball with him. Again my fault not his!
• Repeating meself: This is a discipline issue that I do think needs to be worked on - make sure they are paying attention when I tell them what I would like them to do and the consequence if they don't follow through. Set the timer and walk away. No counting, no nagging, no repeating, done. They do it - great. They don't - consequence.
• Back talk/whining: No means no, and all whiners will have to go to their room until they have a better attitude. Out of my face means less yelling.

Finally, here are a few Bible verses that have helped me...

Proverbs 15:18   "A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel."
Proverbs 29:11   "Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end."
Ecclesiates 10:4b   "Calmness can lay great offenses to rest."
Proverbs 14:30a   "A heart at peace gives life to the body"
Colossians 3:15   "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

{Craft Along} ABC Animal Handprint Book: Week 6

Welcome to the first week of my first {Craft Along} series!!! This week we will be completing letters W-Z following the examples given in Red Ted's Art Blog. Find out more about our project {here}!

{WEEK SIX}

Animals:

Walrus

X-Ray fish

Yak

Zebra

Supplies:

Paint (red, black, grey, white)

Construction paper - pink, white, black, brown

Googley eyes

Laminating sheets

Directions:

NOTE: These letters can be done all in one sitting or one per day to go along with books from the library, coloring pages and other crafts.

GENERAL TIPS:

1. See notes for each letter/animal to help you with your handprint; use a paintbrush to apply paint to your child's hand.

2. Allow paint to dry completely before adding embellishments.

3. Wash and dry hands between each letter.

4. Laminate pages after the paint is COMPLETELY dry then add final embellishments like googley eyes using hot glue onto the laminated pages.

5. We will bind our books when all the letters are done - for now keep the finished pages in a safe place. :)

W is for WALRUS
Paint your child's entire hand red then press onto the page with fingers together and facing the bottom of the page. Allow to dry the embellish with a mustache and tusks made from construction paper. Laminate the add google eyes.

X is for XRAY FISH
Paint your child's entire hand black (or color of their choice) and place sideways on the page with pinky and thumb extended. Allow to dry then embellish with "fish bones" cut from construction paper. Laminate the add google eyes.

Y is for YAK
Paint your child's entire hand brown and press hand onto page with fingers slightly spread and facing the bottom of the page. Allow to dry then embellish with large nostrils and hair made from construction paper. Laminate the add google eyes.

Z if for ZEBRA
Paint a scenic backround for your zebra and allow to dry completely. Paint your child's entire hand with white paint and press onto the page over the background with fingers slightly spread facing the bottom of the page, and thumb out wide. (We only did one coat --- you may want to do more allowing each layer to dry). Once paint has dried draw stripes, a tail, mane and hooves on your zebra. Laminate the add google eyes.

YOU ARE ALL DONE!!!! You can take your book to a local office supply store to have it bound for just a couple dollars or hang the pages on the wall using a clothes line art display! ENJOY!!

Mexican Inspired {Bountiful Basket Recipes}

Authenic Chile Rellenos (my all time favorite mexican dish)

{The Basket}

Bananas

Blackberries

Clemintines

Granny Smith Apples

Tomatoes

Avocado

Romaine Lettuce

Annehiem Peppers

Sweet Mini Peppers

Zucchini

Cucumber

Mushrooms

 

{Recipe Inspiration}

Black Bean Mexican Salad

Authentic Chile Rellenos

 Mexican Sweet Mini Pepper Poppers

Black Bean, Corn and Zucchini Enchiladas

Mexican Cucumber Salad

Mushroom and Zucchini Quesadillas with Cilantro Pesto

Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Avocado Butter

Tortilla Cups with Tomato Salsa

Mexican Clementine and Jicama Salsa

Caramelized Banana Crepes with Mexican Chocolate Sauce

Blackberry Sorbet with Tres Leches Cake

Apple Chimichangas

Cheesy Potato Corn Chowder

You know your recipe is a winner when your 7 year old asks for seconds and says, "Mom, you should put this on Pintrest!" Not only is it great that he loved my soup - but he also knows about the awesome-ness of Pintrest!! Enjoy this hearty soup with hot biscuits or rolls.

 

Cheesy Potato Corn Chowder

 

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes, diced into small cubes (about 4 cups)

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 bag of frozen corn (or 2 cans, drained)

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (about 3 cups)

28 oz chicken stock

8 oz Velveeta cheese

1 cup half and half

salt & pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Allow all ingredients EXCEPT for the half and half to simmer in your crockpot all day on low or 5-6 hours on high. 30 minutes before serving add half and half. Stir and recover until serving.

Learning to Trust Again

Anne (my mom), James & Laurie

What is the one event in your life that has completely changed who you are today and the course your life was taking? You can probably think of that moment in an instant and your heart is extremely protective of it. The moment that changed my life was when my mom passed away when I was 18 years old. I was a believer, but until that night my faith was automatic and had yet to define who I was. My mom fought hard against cancer for 3 months. The night she died, she weighed maybe 90 pounds and her body was wrecked with fatigue and disease. I prayed to God that I would not remember her the way she was then. God answered the prayer of a scared and lonely girl with a miracle. You may not believe me, but when I think of the night my mom died I don't remember her suffering or her disease. I remember her peace and her joy because on that night, 15 minutes after she had breathed her last a smile spread across her face! I knew at that moment that my mom was in the hands of the Father, and was able to rest at last. That night I changed - my faith changed. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that God existed and that there was a heaven where I would one day see my Mom again. I changed my major from photography to youth ministry and began my life grounded in faith and hope, where death had no grip or sting because of eternal life found in Christ!

A few years later, now married and with a beautiful 2 year old little boy. My faith was shaken after I had miscarriage. I began my second pregnancy much like I did my first -- filled with ignorant bliss, loving every second of it and hopeful from the day we found out for the day that I would hold my little one in my arms. When I went to my first OB appointment the doctor asked if I was certain of the date of conception. We were trying to get pregnant so I was. They ordered an ultrasound and we learned that my baby had stopped growing after only 5 short weeks of life within my womb. I was offered a DNC to end the pregnancy but I refused, clinging to some hope that God would heal my baby and the ultrasound was wrong. I prayed with unshakable faith that my baby would live, but a few weeks later my pregnancy ended. I became pregnant again a few months later but would never experience it the same. I held back my emotions and proceeded with caution as seeds of fear began to cling to my faith.

Two years later, my family learned that my aunt (Laurie) had stage 4 melanoma. Again I prayed in faith that she would be healed, but again God answered my prayer by ending her fight and taking her home. It was at this point that I completely hit rock bottom and lost my trust in God. The same summer my uncle (James) lost his own fight with Multiple Sclerosis. Blinded by grief I allowed Satan to fill my heart with lies about God and that His promises somehow didn't apply to me. That my faith was to weak, I was to sinful, I wasn't worthy to have the same love and affection that fills the pages of Scripture. I was completely convinced that prayer didn't work (at least for me) - either I was doing it wrong or God didn't care what I had to say. I never doubted that God existed (believing IN God), but I did loose my faith in him as my personal Father (believing what God says is true). For the next 4 years I allowed my faith to be mashed by fear, bitterness and doubt. I continued to go to church and to small group Bible studies, but in my heart every time I heard about God's love and about the power of prayer I would cringe. When I would pray, I felt guilty like I was only doing it for my own purposes and that I shouldn't be in the first place because He wouldn't hear me anyways. My heart was surrounded by a black cloud of grief and sin.

On the 10 year anniversary of my Mom's passing my family ran a 10K to honor her life and to remember her by. For the 8 months before the run I began to pray as I trained and to ask God to forgive my anger and to help me to trust him again. On race day, I vowed to myself and to God that I was DONE living in fear and anger and that from that moment on I would live my life once again by FAITH and TRUST. As I ran for the next hour, my Pandora streamed one song after another about faith in God and trust in God --- filling my heart with His lavish love once again.

Today, I am still healing from the brokeness that I allowed into my heart for all that time but I am healing. I pray like a child who is just learning to walk, wobbley, cautious and clinging to the hand of my Father trusting that he will be there to catch me (and has always been there). I have learned to discern the voice of God from the voice of the evil one and every day I have to chose whom I will hear. I know now that Jesus fills my heart and only wants what is best for me. When I go to church now I am able to praise God for who he is and I hear his promises with a heart ready to learn. Everyday is a choice - I choose FAITH. I focus my thoughts on the blessings I have and the time that I have been given, not what was been taken away. In time, when God knows that I am ready He will use my story to bring healing to others - and that is a very good thing.

ABC Scavenger Hunt

Here is a fun and easy activity to help your preschooler learn their letters. Mark bins or boxes with letters and send your child to find things that start with that letter. Make it harder by adding more letters or changing from upper to lower case letters.

This activity teaches:
-Letter recognition
-Letter sounds
-Patience and focus
-Sorting and categorizing
-Problem solving
-Creative thinking

{Spring Cleaning} Steam Clean Your Oven

This one took a bit of elbow grease --- the kitchen is turning out to be alot of work. :p But all the projects that I have done have been worth the time and effort and the results speak for themselves. Take a look...

Steam Clean the Microwave

STEP 1: Remove the crumbs and large pieces with a dry rag.
STEP 2: Place a bowl of water in the microwave and cook for 10 minutes to boil.
STEP 3: CAREFULLY remove the hot water and wipe away any remaining food and stains. The steam should have softened and loosened anything that was left.
STEP 4: While you are at it make sure to clean the outside top and sides.

Steam Clean the Oven

 

STEP 1: Boil a large pot of water on the stove.
STEP 2: Place pot of boiling water CAREFULLY into a cold oven and shut the door. Let steam for 20-30 minutes.
STEP 3: CAREFULLY remove the hot water and wipe away any food and stains. Most of the gunk came off without much effort for me - everything on the door sides and back. Cooked on stains (like the spilled apple pie filling in mine) may need to be scrubbed with baking soda and/or steamed a second time.
STEP 4: Finish by cleaning the outside of the oven with a diluted lemon infused vinegar. Stubborn grease can be easily rubbed away with a paste made from baking soda and water. Polish with glass cleaner. Don't forget to wipe the underside of the range hood above the stove top where lots of grease and splatters are hiding.
STEP 5: And why not, since you are on a roll --- move the stove and sweep/mop underneath.

How To Keep Lettuce Crispy

We get a beautiful head of salad greens in the basket almost every time and since our family buys two I needed a way to keep it fresh for longer than a few days. After some trial and error I finally found the trick, plus it is packaged nicely and fits in the produce trays for nice storage! :) Here is what to do...

STEP 1:
With a fresh head of lettuce or other salad greens, cut off the stem end with a non-metallic blade (to prevent browning) or tear off the leaves of you don't have one.

STEP 2:
Fill a clean sink with cold water and thoroughly rinse the leaves.

STEP 3:
Remove excess water with a salad spinner. Don't have one - no worries... Wrap the lettuce in a dish towel then remove the water (outside or in the garage) by flinging/swirling the closed towel overhead. Looks silly and a bit wet but it works and its faster than towel drying each leaf.

STEP 4: Place the lettuce leaves into a ziplock bag lined with paper towels. Remove air and store in produce drawer of your fridge. :)

The paper towels remove the excess water but remain damp to keep your lettuce crispy!! Hooray!!!

{Craft Along} ABC Animal Handprint Book: Week 5

Welcome to the first week of my first {Craft Along} series!!! This week we will be completing letters S-V following the examples given in Red Ted's Art Blog. Find out more about our project {here}!

{WEEK FIVE}

Animals:

Turtle

Unicorn

Vulture

Supplies:

Paint (green, black, red and your choice for the unicorn)

Googley eyes

Yarn to match unicorn

Construction paper (white and color for unicorn's horn)

Laminating sheets

Directions:

NOTE: These letters can be done all in one sitting or one per day to go along with books from the library, coloring pages and other crafts.

GENERAL TIPS:

1. See notes for each letter/animal to help you with your handprint; use a paintbrush to apply paint to your child's hand.

2. Allow paint to dry completely before adding embellishments.

3. Wash and dry hands between each letter.

4. Laminate pages after the paint is COMPLETELY dry then add final embellishments like googley eyes using hot glue onto the laminated pages.

5. We will bind our books when all the letters are done - for now keep the finished pages in a safe place. :)

T is for TURTLE
Paint your child's entire palm and thumb but only to the first knuckle of thier 4 fingers (we did the whole finger and his legs are too long). Press their hand onto the paper with fingers spread slightly and facing the bottom of the page. Allow to dry then draw a shell, short tail, and nails on the feet. (Do you like the ears my son added to his? Who am I to squash his creativity??) Laminate then add google eyes.

U is for UNICORN
Paint your child's entire hand and fingers the color of their choice. Press your childs hand onto the paper with fingers spread and thumb out straight. Fingers facing the bottom of the page. Allow to dry then draw hooves and a mouth. Also add a small horn on top of your unicorn's head. Laminate then add google eyes. Finally, glue a tail and mane made from yarn to finish your unicorn, and maybe some glitter????

V is for VULTURE
Paint your child's entire hand brown and place it diagonally with fingers together and facing the bottom of the page. Paint a red circle at the top of the palm for the bird's head. Allow the paint to dry then draw a beak and feet. My son also added a nest and a few eggs. Cut out a collar using white construction paper and glue it to the bird's neck. Laminate then add google eyes.

 

{Spring Cleaning} Make Your Fridge Look Like New Again!!

I have to start this post by saying that I am honestly a little bit embarassed - my fridge was absolutely DISGUSTING!! But the fact that I knew that it was counts for something though right?? Thankfully, even though it was so gross it really wasn't that difficult to clean, it just took a while. I even enlisted the help of my 7 year old, who was crazy-proud of himself when we finished (not gonna lie, I was too!!)  He said, "Daddy is gonna ask us why we spent all his money to buy a new fridge!" Plus, the nice thing about using an all-natural cleaning solutions is that I wasn't worried about him helping.

So here is what I did, step by step, so you can make your own fridge can look like new!! :)

STEP 1: Take everything out of the fridge --- EVERYTHING! (We will sort through it all later before we put it back in.)

STEP 2: Take all the shelves and drawers out, so that your fridge is completely bare and you are able to get to the back side and walls of the fridge easily.

STEP 3: Remove any dry mess like crumbs (or my spilled coffee grounds) with a dry rag or vacuum attachments.

Using Lemon Infused Vinegar, make a cleaning solution of 1 part vinegar and 1 part HOT water with just a few drops of dish soap per 2 cups of solution. Swirl to mix and add to a spray bottle.

STEP 4: Wipe down all the surfaces of the fridge with the HOT cleaning solution. The hotter the better, use rubber gloves if you need to. Also, wipe down the outside of you fridge paying close attention to the handles. Use a Magic Eraser for any stains. (I don't have a homemade recipe for the Magic Erasers -- those puppies just work!!)

STEP 5: Time to get serious --- Wipe down all the shelves and drawers, soaking as needed to loosen the gunk in HOT water. You can use your bathtub for the large pieces that won't fit in the sink. Most of the stuff on mine came off after soaking for 10 minutes and wiping down with the cleaning solution without having to scrub too much. Use a butter knife wrapped in a rag or paper towel to get into the egdes and cracks. Towel dry.

STEP 6: Shine all the glass pieces (on both sides of the glass) using a small amount of the cleaning solution and dry newspapers or paper towels.

STEP 7: Reassamble your fridge.

STEP 8: Before putting everything back into the fridge, go through and toss anything that is expired or that you haven't used in more than 1-2 months. Also, wipe down any containers that are sticky so you don't recontaminate the clean fridge with old gunk.

STEP 9: Move the fridge away from the wall. Vacuum the dust from the vent at the back of the fridge and wipe down the walls.

STEP 10: Sweep and mop the floor where the fridge was sitting, then put it back. Did you find any long-lost treasures?? I found a picture of my son that was at least 2 years old and a dozen fun CARS magnets for my youngest to play with!

That's it! Enjoy your SPARKLY CLEAN fridge and maintain the shine by cleaning up messes as you find them, not waiting until next spring when they really start to get gross.

{Spring Cleaning} 5 Simple Laundry Room Makeover Ideas

You can make your laundry room look brand new without spending a fortune to do it! Here are a few projects that you can do easily and without breaking the bank!!

Add a splash of color!

 

 

Disguise the clutter with baskets!

 

 

Hide the mess with simple cabinets!

 

 

Add personality with a new print!

 

 

Get organized!

 

The TRUTH About The First Week

My cousin just welcomed her first child into the world last weekend and it had me thinking and remembering when I became a Mommy for the very first time almost 8 years ago - yikes!! We had taken Lamaze classes to help prepare for labor (that was NOTHING like what they described) and even though I had been counting the days until I would hold my baby boy in my arms I was scared! Scared of labor. Scared of motherhood. Scared of losing my future. Even scared of my baby. So, from one mama to another here are a few suggestions and a little of what you can expect the first week after your new baby is born.

Let me start by saying that after giving birth 3 times it is important to remember that EVERY MOM, EVERY BIRTH, and EVERY BABY IS DIFFERENT! This is what I have learned from my own experience...

Labor is hard. Really hard! But you can do it!!
When I was in labor with my first son, my contractions never stopped. In Lamaze, they said I would get a break in between --- I didn't with my first labor (I did with the other two, so its they aren't telling you all lies). Only a few hours into active labor I was already exhausted and my moaning was so loud that my nurse actually told me to be quiet because I was scaring the other patients (YES that REALLY happened!!). Even though I was determined to have a "natural" labor I agreed to medication to help ease the pain and actually fell asleep once they gave it to me. When my beautiful baby boy was born a few hours later, I was utterly exhausted. But I remember thinking I had done it! God created my body with the ability to give birth to a child, and with His help --- I had done it! I also swore that I would never do it again, but with time your mind puts away the memory of the pain of childbirth and leaves behind the feeling of complete JOY and the miracle of new life.

My advice: Have a birth plan but be flexible and know that it is okay if things don't go just like you planned. In the end, you will still hold your precious child in your arms.

You are going to be tired EXHAUSTED! It is worth it!!
I have never been more tired in my whole life than in the first week after my son was born. My son was an eager eater from the moment he was born -- he was 8 lb 1 oz -- so after nursing him every 30-45 minutes around the clock for the first 24 hours of his life and no rest since delivery for me, I willingly and eagerly agreed to let my nurse give him a bottle of formula. She took him to the nursery, while I fell into an exhausted sleep. 3 hours later I woke up panicked that my baby was missing only to find him swaddled and sleeping like an angel nearby. That was the moment when I fell in love with my child. I will never forget it. My heart was INSTANTLY filled with an indescribable ADORATION for this child whom I barely knew. The next few weeks as my husband and I learned about parenthood were filled with equal amounts of awe and frustration. We were tired more tired than we had ever been and really had no clue what we were doing, but we had our son - and that made it all worth it.

My advice: Giving your child formula between nursing is not the end of the world - once my milk came in, I stopped supplementing and breastfeed successfully until my son was 8 months old.

Trust your heart, and don't take every piece of advice people give you.
I swear I got about 10 new mothers when my son was born and every one of them had advice on what I should do with my baby. I was a new mom and they were only trying to help, but all I heard was criticism and what I was doing wrong. HEAR THIS!! You are a GOOD MOM and God has put an instinct in your heart that will help you raise your child and show you what to do. Letting him sleep in the swing because that is the only way you can sleep to IS OKAY! Letting him fuss so you can pee without holding him IS OKAY! Letting him play alone for a while so you can be alone too IS OKAY! Not wearing a moby wrap because you are too exhausted to figure out how to put the stinking thing on IS OKAY! Breastfeeding him to sleep and holding him in your arms IS OKAY!

My advice: Enjoy your baby - and all its ups and downs - for this too shall pass and they only stay little for so long.

Don't be afraid to ask for help.
People want to help but often are too embarrassed to ask or don't really know what they need. If you have no time to cook, ask a friend to bring you a meal (or order a pizza). If your laundry pile is higher than Mt. Everest ask a family member to wash a load, or for me fold and put away the pile that is clean but has since been ignored. If you need a nap, ask a friend to come "babysit" at your house while you take a nap. (I say at your house, because if you are anything like me having your new baby any more than a room away will cause enough anxiety to keep you awake anyways).

My advice: Enjoy your new baby - all the rest of it doesn't really matter in the end.

Spend time ALONE with your family!
Everyone you know will be anxious to visit you and to meet your baby. Don't rush it. When my next child is born this summer, I don't plan having company until at least a week after we get home - certainly not within the first few days. Spend a few days getting to know your new baby and welcoming him or her into your home. This is a special time that you should keep special between you and your husband. Don't get me wrong - I am all about having someone come stay to help out, but let them do the housework while you and your hubby fall in love with your child.

My advice: Spend as much time alone with your child and your spouse as you can - it may be the only time you will ever be alone together for quite a while.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful!"

Psalm 139:14

{Spring Cleaning} Homemade Laundry Detergent

Back by popular demand --- here are the two recipes I use everyday for my laundry. I will admit I was a skeptic when I first heard of "homemade detergent" and honestly put off trying it for a really long time. But after staring at the insane price of detergent and softner one day at the store I decided to give it a go. It is VERY easy to make and only takes about 30 minutes. Needless to say, I tried it once and I was hooked --- I make a batch of detergent once every few months and softner about once a month. {LOVE}

 

Time:
15-20 minutes prep
24 hour cooling time for the detergent

Liquid Detergent:
1/2 bar Fels-laundry soap
1/2 cup Borax
3/4 cup Washing Soda (not baking soda)
3 empty gallon milk jugs
Funnel (or top half of a soda bottle)

-Using a cheese grater, shred the Fels-Naptha. Save 1/2 for your next batch. In a large stock pot melt the remaining 1/2 bar of shredded soap with 3 cups water over medium high heat. Add the Borax and Washing Soda, stirring until well mixed. Put 2 cups into each of 3 clean gallon jugs. Add HOT water to 2/3 to 3/4 full. Shake. Remove lids and let sit for 24 hours to thicken. Contents may seperate, shake before each use.
-TO USE IN LAUNDRY: Use 1/8-1/4 cup per load. Good for HE washers and front loaders as well.

Fabric softener:
1 cup Suave Conditioner
2 cups white vinegar
1-2 empty container(s)

Combine conditioner and Vinegar with 3 cups HOT water. Shake well.
-TO USE IN LAUNDRY: Use 2-3 Tbsp per load diluted with water where you would normally place the fabric softener.
-NOTE: Use 1/2-1 cup straight white vinegar for towels to help with mildew smell and to help maintain absorbency.