Lately

This wild and crazy (almost) 2 year old of mine is a very busy guy these days. Quiet activities are usually a bust and sitting still for any length of time is more than out of the question. 

We attempted this cute project from Manic Mrs. Stone.

For the most part, I painted the egg carton and Cruz painted the wood pile behind us. Its all one and the same to him. 

We attempted to collect some similar color objects from around the yard to fill the carton, but had to abandon it half way through to break up a chicken squabble and then head to kindergym. We will get back to it later today. 

I've been attempting to get Cruz involved in a lot more programs and activities outside of the house lately. It helps a ton with burning his energy as well as directing his attention toward education and exercise vs the god forsaken television at home (one of his favorite shows is "My Name is Earl." He actually says "Eawl" when he wants to watch. Wonder who's fault that is...) 

I used to go to this play gym as a child so its lots of fun to watch Cruz play here as well.

I've also looked into signing him up for a Momma and me nursery school on Friday mornings. Coincidentally, it is the same nursery school I went to when I was his age. Seeing as it wasn't so very long ago that I was a child myself, I find that there are lots of places/experiences/programs that I was involved in when I was young that are still around for Cruz. It's one of the many fun little perk of having a child when you are not so far from being one yourself--Although I do truly belief this about childhood:

photo via (adaptations by me)

Mama Made It: Toddler Toys

As Cruz gets older and enters the ever entertaining world of Toddlerhood, I find stimulating him to be an increasingly tougher task. He has never been much of a toys kind of boy, always preferring to be outside, running, jumping, playing, puddle stomping. But lately I can see him feeling the desire to learn more and more. He tries so hard to say every word I tell him. He is loving to paint and draw and build. I started seeing him needing to be stimulated. If he isn't getting enough of that stimulation he cries for attention, or worse, television.

So, I decided to start looking around for toys and activities that would keep that little mind of his spinning.

I'm not a huge fan of plastic/computerized/battery operated toys so I knew I wanted to keep it simple. Unfortunately, these days, simple comes at a price. All the Waldorf style and Montessori style toys I could find were pretty far out of my single mama budget.

But the more I researched, the more I realized that I could definitely recreate a lot of these things on my own. So recreate, I did.

I found this great website called Woodworks Ltd that sold all the wood pieces I wanted at a wholesale price that was available to the public.

And here is a super simple little tutorial for anyone interested in making their little ones some sweet, simple toys.

I decided to make a color matching game using the little pots and the acorns (they came separate but fit together perfect). I saw this idea on etsy, retailing for close to $30.00

I was using the little pails for a different project. I was going to paint them as well, but decided to go ahead and leave them natural so that Cruz wouldn't be overwhelmed with a ton of color. 

I used watercolors that we had on hand. Paint them any way you like. You get get creative with different kinds of paint or wood stains.

Finishing the set took me about 15 minutes

Here are some colored balls that I made previously that I paired with the plain pails to create an "in and out" game. Cruz loves to take things out and put them away.

I decided to save the color matching game to give to Cruz as a Christmas present. I had quite a few leftovers, so if you know me and we have kids the same age, pretend you didnt see this because its probably what I am making your little one for Christmas!

Hope you enjoyed. 

A Little of This & a Little of That

I worked on a few little crafts today.


First: A pair of fingerless mittens.

Please excuse the fingernails that are so badly in need of a manicure.

As the picture quality is lacking (still havent gotten my camera back) you cant see them very well. They have a little bow there in the top middle.

It was really quick. I did it while Cruz was playing.

I'm loving, LUHVING grey and black for this season. Probably because I just went and saw Harry Potter 7 in theatres (by myself, doesn't anyone else do that. People look at me weird when I say I went by myself...) and Hermione is dressed super cute, all grey and black, all the time.

I also started working on a christmas present for Cruz. I wanted to make him a play mat based on scenes out of the book "Guess How Much I Love You." So I started brainstorming the best ways to do this and I decided that I would just hand embroider the pictures onto pieces of white muslin and then I would sew the muslin together.

WELL....

Its waayyy tougher than I thought it would be. At this rate, Cruz won't get it until his 3rd birthday. 

Here's the picture from the book...

I traced it onto white paper...

I cut out the paper and stitched right on top of it....

And this is what I came up with. I am pretty positive that you would have no idea what it was if I didn't tell you. And it took FOREVER to do this one piece.

I like to consider myself crafty, but this is just not my niche.

I'm going to try again tomorrow, we'll see how that goes. I'm not optimistic.

Wonderful Wednesday + Wonderfully Natural Baby Activities and Recipes

I love Wednesdays.

Cruz doesnt have to go with Papa on wednesday, he gets some good 'ol mama time. And wednesday is story time at the library (Cruz will someday love books, so help me God).


And even though this has been a glorious wednesday, Cruz has been a bit cranky as he is nearing the end of his bout with bronchitis. In an effort to keep him well entertained we decided to make some baby safe paint. Obviously, safety was my number one concern because EVERYTHING goes in his mouth. I did a little research and this is what I came up with...

 

Baby Safe (editable, should you choose) Paint:

1 cup Flour (cornstarch works great too, but use 1/2 the amount, so in this recipe 1/2 cup)

2 cups Water

Food coloring

Optional:
3 Tbs Sugar

Directions:

Mix water and flour over low/medium heat. Stir for about 5 minutes, or until you have a thick mixture. Separate into containers and add food coloring. Let cool, paint away!

 

If you want to be super natural you can make your own food coloring with berries, flowers, plants, etc. I've done this before and I will do it again for my next batch of paints.

Quick rundown for making your own dyes:
I usually just pick a color, for the sake of instructions I will choose blue. I like to use blackberries to make blue.
I add the blackberries to a pot of water. Just use a little water if you want a rich color or a lot if you want a muted color.
Bring the water to a boil while mashing the berries in the mixture (some recommend using a pot that you dont mind staining, but I've never had an issue with it).
Let simmer about 15 minutes or so depending on the color you want to achieve. For richer color allow it to simmer longer.
Strain into a jar. I usually cover the jar with cheesecloth to catch the berry pieces. 
Allow to cool and then add to your paints!
P.S If your using the dye to color cloth/material make sure to pre-treat your material so color will stick. Water with ice in it works. So does vinegar. Just place the material into the pretreating bath and let it soak for a few minutes. Ring it out and transfer to dye bath.

Cruz chose to use his paints in the bath. But its also fun with a nakee baby and a length of butcher paper for them to crawl around on. Baby's first artwork!

 

He was quite smitten with it!

On a different, yet equally domestic note, I've made Cruz's baby food since he started eating it. I often intersperse it with the store bought jars. And when I get really lazy I find myself resorting straight to the jars.

I've decided to put an end to that.

A really, really close friend of mine (more like a sister really) has always made her twin's food. And a couple weeks ago, she started making it for Cruz too! She is genious. She makes the food, puts it in ice cube trays and freezes it, thawing them as she needs them. The ice cube trays make the perfect size serving!

So far she has made him:
3 layer bean dip ( organic beans, yogurt instead of sour cream, and mashed avocado)
Organic Lentil Soup
Organic Chicken Noodle Soup
Organic Pasta O's in red sauce (she makes her own pasta. I know, I'm awed by her too)
Baby Pumpkin Pie ( fresh pumpkin, fresh ginger, cinnamon and organic animal cookies crumbled up to make the crust)
Pumpkin French Toast (cut into little hand sized sticks)
Spiced Organic Apples
Organic Carrot Bread (made in the mini cupcake pans)
Organic squash, carrot and broccoli purees that can be added to any meal.

OMG, I know. How is that not inspirational, right! Right?

So, I've taken a page out of her book. I rid the house of ALL processed or store bought baby food. And today I made a couple things for Cruz as well. The first was "Annie's with Organic Family Farmers" gluten-free peace pasta and Parmesan (you can find the brand at Whole Foods. Make sure the box says "with organic family farmers" because "Annies" has some products that arent 100% organic). The pasta is little peace signs. Soo cute. And the perfect size for C (he's 9 months, so they might be a little big for beginner eaters).

And then I made my own recipe:

Organic Banana Apple Quinoa 

1/2 cup Organic Pearl Quinoa
1 cup water
Banana flavored Baby Yogurt-to taste
Homemade Applesauce-to taste

Add quinoa and water  to a pan. Heat until bowling. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. I used Pearl quinoa which is white when you open the package. You can tell its done when the grains turn clear and the sprouts start to pop out. Also, most all of the water should be soaked up by the quinoa. It will be fluffy and soft to the taste. If its still crunchy, simmer longer.

Add a little bit of banana yogurt and a little homemade applesauce (which is totally easy to make. Just peel and cut apples, add a teeny bit of water, cook till soft, mush up, your done) and you have a very healthy little snack for baby.

I had to convince Cruz to try it, but he liked it once he got used to it. The texture of quinoa is a little funky at first (even for adults) so be patient with baby! But its a great source of fiber. And its good with EVERYTHING. Fruit, veggies, tuna, plain, I love it!

Then we topped of lunch with a little desert. Vegan marshmallows. They are smaller then normal 'mallows, so the perfect size for Cruz. They use beet sugar, which is interesting and somehow seems less offensive then regular sugar. Either way, I know babies aren't supposed to have sugar, but sometimes I just can't help but give it to him. He's crazy about them!

I encourage everyone to try making their babies food. It is so much better for them without all those added preservatives of store bought food. And its really quite economical. Almost any adult meal can be tweaked into baby food. I love supporting local farmers and filling Cruz's belly with good, wholesome yumminess at the same time!

Have any great baby recipes? Shoot 'em my way!