Bargain sites that I LOVE!

Everyday I try to hit the following sites. 

http://www.babysteals.com/ 

This one sells out fast. A new steal is posted every morning at 10:00 am. Get there at 10:00 am when they post the first steal. If you get there at 10:10 the steal may be gone. 

http://www.mamabargains.com/

 I love this site because the items don't sell out as quickly as the above site. This site lists there deals until they are sold out. It could be hours or days.

http://kids.woot.com/

New deal everyday. I have yet to buy from this site.

http://www.babyearth.com/baby-sale

Wow! This site is so addicting. They list an item and keep it up for an hour. The price keeps dropping during the time. You don't know whether to wait for a cheaper price or buy the item to make sure you can get it. So much fun! This site only runs M-F

A while ago I bought a crib bedding set from http://www.babysteals.com/ . 

I loved it and wanted to use it for the boy's bathroom...yes, a crib bedding set for the bathroom. Crazy sounding, I know!  Here is the finished product.

I started by painting the bathroom a buttery yellow. After painting the walls I added vinyl brown dots that I bought from a seller on Etsy.

Before

After

Here is what I did with the window valence

The crib bumper was made up of pendents that were strung together. I cut the pendents off of the string and arranged them in circles on a white shower curtain. I don't sew so I used an iron on adhesive. So far so good.  The curtain is tied on to the rod using the string that was once holding the pendents together. I cut the string into 5 inch pieces and tied the curtain on to the rod.

The finishing touches were with the personalized towels. 

and...the free bathtub shaped basket that was on my doorstep after having Grady. A local group gives you a Welcome Baby gift. I had picked up bibs and burp cloths on an earlier baby steal that matched the bedding. I rolled up the bibs and cloths and placed them into the free basket.

Happy Shopping Ladies. If you have a great site that I should add let me know. I am always looking for a good deal.

As easy as Apple Pie!

In honor of Fall I will post a grown up treat...apple pie! 

Recipe

What you will need:

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (I used store bought)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Peel the apples. I used 4 Ginger gold and 4 Honey Crisp

Cut the apples. I only cut 6 of the 8 apples that I peeled.

Look at the yummy apples

Melt the butter

Add 3 tablespoons of flour to the butter..stir well

Add 1/2 cup of brown and 1/2 cup of white sugar to the butter and flour mixture

Add 1/4 cup of water

Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes

Place pie crust in the pie plate and fill with sliced apples. I only used 6 apples and not the recommended 8 apples.

Cut the remaining pie crust into .5 inch strips

This is a great video on how to make a lattice top for your pie.

Use every other strip of pie crust 

Weave the rest of the pie crust..the above video is really helpful

Pour the butter mixture over the lattice top. Do this very slowly

I saved some of the butter mixture. I brushed it over the entire pie

Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.

This is a really easy and yummy pie. It does not call for many ingredients..I love that about this recipe. The pie was finished before the boys woke up from nap.

Do you have a card?

A mommy card that is! I was at a mommy and me class when I hear talks of a mommy card. At first I thought the mom's had their own businesses..nope it's a card with play date information on it. Silly but so handy. I found some really cute cards on Etsy.com

So do you have these so called mommy cards? Tell me what you think about them.

A must have!

I did not use a Belly Bandit (belly binder) with Gavin but thought I would give it a try this time around. I am shocked and amazed that it really works. Here are pictures comparing postpartum belly pictures from each pregnancy

Gavin -almost two years ago

Here I am the night my water broke at 35 weeks

Here is 1 week postpartum

Here is WITH the belly bandit

The day I delivered 37.5 weeks

1 day postpartum

1 week postpartum

 I will never go through another pregnancy without binding afterwards. It's so worth it!

Car seat time!!!!

During my first pregnancy I went to Babies R Us to register. I did not think about the safety of the car seat I was about to put on my registry. I was all about style and color. I thought the Graco seats were so ugly and settled on a Chicco Keyfit. I was not thrilled with what it looked like but I had to pick something.

Fast forward to being 35 weeks along. It was midnight and my water broke. Derek was out of town. I had a slow leak and was not sure what was going on. Long story short I tried to get some sleep and thought my contractions were just cramps. I went to work where I taught second grade. My water gushed in front of my students and I knew it was time to head to labor and delivery.

I delivered my healthy baby boy at 8:45 pm. His daddy made it to the hospital at 8:00 pm. He was a tiny 4 pounds 15 ounces. When it was time to go home 5 days later he was 4 pounds 5 ounces.

After our Big G was born Derek went to Babies R Us to buy the Chicco car seat that we had registered for...little did I know it was one of the few that could hold a 4 pound baby. Our car seat was rated for 4-22 pounds. Big G had to go through a car seat test and the nurse gave me wonderful tips for the car seat.

*When rear facing- the shoulder straps should be at or below your child's shoulders

*When forward facing- the shoulder straps should be above your child's shoulders

*The CHEST clip is just that..a chest clip. Keep this right at your child's arm pits. This is very important.

*The straps should be very snug. You should not be able to pinch any extra material on the strap.

*Don't use after market car seat products with your seats. This means the wonderful Bundle Me and head supports

*Don't put heavy coats/snowsuits on you children if they will be in the car seat. This is a big no no. Put a light weight fleece jacket on your child. If it's cold put your child's coat on AFTER you get out of the car.

Extend rear facing is wonderful. Please take the time to watch this it's a great video about rear facing. It's now recommended to rear face until 2 years old.

Here are some pics of my rear facing kiddos. Notice the chest clip...

Please feel free to add any other tips to this. I love car seat safety!

After school snack!

In honor of the first day of school I thought I would post one of Gavin's favorite snacks. It's yummy and healthy.

Banana Chocolate Tofu Mousse

1 block of extra firm tofu

1/4 cups baking cocoa

1/3 cups sugar

2 bananas

1.  Drain the tofu

2. Place tofu on a paper towel lined plate.

3. Place a plate on top of the tofu

4. Place something heavy on top of the plate. I like to use a number 10 can. Let sit for 10-20 minutes.

5. Add 1/3 cups of sugar to the blender

6. Add 1/4 cups of baking cocoa to the blender

7.  Add two bananas or desired fruit to the blender

8.  Cut the tofu into cubes

9.  Add the tofu to the blender and blend until smooth

10. Chill for 1-2 hours. It's best if chilled over night

11. Here is ours after 1 hour. YUMMY

Gavin was so excited

Eating it all up. This was his second bowl

He loves to dip crackers in it.

Try making mousse sandwiches. Place some mousse between two graham crackers and freeze. It's a yummy cool treat. 

 

Plums made easy

One of my mom's friends has a plum tree. My mom asked if I wanted some plums. I was happy to take some Minnesota grown plums. Here is how I made them into baby food for little G.

1. Wash the plums really well. I was going to leave the skin on so this is very important

2. Cut the plums in half and take the pit out

3.  Place the plums face down in 1 inch of water. Bake at 400 degrees until soft. 
5.  Here they are 30 minutes later. The house smelled really good. 
6.  Here are the plums ready to be made into puree
7.  This after 1 minute of blending. You can still see the skin.
8.  After 5 minutes in the blender the plums are ready to cool and freeze.
9.  Going into the freezer

10.  This is what the cubes look like once they are frozen.

Now go and make some baby food!!!!