CROCODILE CREEK KID BIB REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY***CLOSED**

When most moms sit their children at the table to eat, one of the first things that they grab is a bib. There are so many bibs on the market today. When choosing a bib you not only want to have a cute design, but you want it to be functional and not made with harmful chemicals including phthalates and PVC.

I was able to review a wonderful bib from Crocodile Creek. They have many wonderful safe products including lunch boxes, puzzles, and drinking bottles. Their philosophy is:

Please be assured that all Crocodile Creek products are safe for children. We regard the safety of the children in our world and the safety of our products as being of the utmost importance. Our product development department works closely with our manufacturing facilities to see that our products conform to all of the appropriate safety standards.

We had a busy weekend and brought the "Give Peas A Chance" bib with us. The bib traveled to the Adventure Aquarium, a BBQ, and a fundraiser in the park. I love the bright colors of the big and the slogan on the front is adorable. This bib is not recommended for use in the washing machine so I just wiped it with soap and water and hung it to dry. The bib washed up great. I also liked the size of the bib and that it has a strong velcro closure.

The bibs from Crocodile Creek are PVC and Phthalate free. They are coated with 100% cotton and have a pocket on the front. Do you want one for your little munchkin'? The wonderful owner of The Soft Landing is generously giving away one of these wonderful bibs. The Soft Landing is a one stop shopping for all BPA, PVC and Phthalate-free products including bottles, stainless steel cups, and lunch boxes. They even have sample kits to try different cups and bottles to see which brand you like best. I love that they take the guesswork out of choosing safe products for my Munchkin' Man! Now onto the giveaway.....

I will randomly chose one comment on Tuesday August 24, 2009

Mandatory:

1. Visit The Soft Landing and chose another product that you would love to try

Additional Entries:

2. Follow The Soft Landing on Twitter

3. Become a Fan of The Soft Landing on Facebook

4. Follow me on Twitter

5. Subscribe to my feeds

6. Tweet this giveaway for unlimited entries

** You must leave a comment when you do any of the additional entries!!!!

***Make sure you put an email or twitter address for contact if you are the winner ***

MEATLESS MONDAY- STIR FRY

Tonight's dinner ended up being a stir fry all the different vegetables I found in the house. I think sometimes I can be more creative if I just start looking around to see what I have available in the house.

This is what I found:

* 1 yellow squash (it was a round one that I can not remember the name of)

* 1 onion

* 1 clove of garlic

* handful of purple beans

* couple stalks of celery

* 3 carrots

* 1 kohlrabi (to me it tastes like a mild radish)

All the vegetables are organic and most from the local farmer's market. I have really been enjoying going to the market each week to see what I can find. I will be very sad when the season is done!

I sauteed the vegetables in some oil until they started to get a little tender. I like to have a little crunch in my stir fry. I also added a can off bamboo shoots, baby corn, and water chestnuts. To add a little more flavor, I added a beef and broccoli spice mix.

When everything was cooked to my liking :) I served it over brown rice. Always remember if you are using brown rice to think ahead- it takes about 45 minutes to cook.

MUFFIN TIN MONDAY- BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR

This week the Munchkin' Man and I will begin doing activities that go along with one of our favorite stories Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? I think that we will be doing activities for about 2 weeks. Please come back and visit to see what we have been up to! :)

MUFFIN TIN MONDAY

This is our second "Muffin Tin Monday" and my son and I are really enjoying it. This week, to go along with the theme, I bought the Wilton bear silicone baking cups. They worked out perfect and were oh so adorable.

We decided to have a teddy bear picnic up in the tree house today! It was a nice day out, a little hot, but the tree house is in the shade and it was dry unlike the grass.

On the menu for today was:

*Bear shaped English muffin with soy nut butter and raisins

*Stonyfield Organic OIKOS Greek yogurt with honey and bear shaped cookies to dip

*Carrot sticks

*Mellon cut in bear shapes and blueberries

I love cookies cutters! They are making these lunches so much fun.

I think I need to get a little picnic table to put up in the tree house and eat up there more. It is very peaceful. Below is a picture of the view looking down from the tree house.

Take a look at the Munchkin' Man's bib. The bib is made by Crocodile Creek and you can have a chance to win one starting tomorrow.

LAST ZUCCHINI FROM GARDEN AND FAST DINNER

It seems like as soon as one meal is done and cleaned up, I have to start making the next meal. Last night we has take out (Sushi yummy.) I knew that I would have to figure out something to actual cook for tonight's dinner . I reached for the old stand by- pasta!! I decided that I would make a quick tomato sauce and add the last zucchini from our garden. I used all ingredients that I always have in the house. Below is the quick and easy recipe:

* 1 large can of organic crushed tomatoes ( I do not have enough tomatoes from the garden yet)

* 1 tiny chopped onion from the farmer's market (or half of medium onion)

* 1 clove of garlic minced or grated on a micoplane

* a couple basil leaves (from the garden)

* a pinch of salt and oregano

* about a tablespoon of sugar (I use organic cane sugar- it cuts down the bitterness)

* 1 chopped zucchini (the small the pieces the faster it cooks)

** my Mom says that if you add a carrot into sauce it cuts down the acid!

I cook the onion and garlic in olive oil. When they start to get tender I just add all other ingredients. While that is cooking on low I cook the pasta. The sauce is ready when the zucchini is tender.

That's it!! Although it is not a gourmet meal, I feel better making this quick sauce than opening a jar. I can not wait till I have enough tomatoes to start making sauce and freezing it. For this meal, I also added eggplant "meatballs." They are vegetarian meatless balls. They actually were not that bad, a little dry, but not bad. I did take a wonderful picture of the finished plate, but somehow deleted it . OOPS!

What is your easy fast weeknight meal?

Here is a picture of my basil bouquet. Every year I seem to let me basil go crazy. I cut half of it tonight. I will run it through the food processor with a bit of oil and freeze it. It is so wonderful to use throughout winter. I just break off a piece and throw it in when ever I need basil!!

WORDLESS WEDESDAY- PAINTING

POTTY TRAINING TALK AND BLUEBERRY DAYTIME TRAINING PANTS REVIEW

****WARNING- THERE IS GOING TO BE A SUPER AMOUNT OF POTTY TALK ON THIS POST..LOL


Today the Munchkin' Man is 2 1/2 years old! I can not believe how fast the time has gone by. On Monday I was committed to REALLY start potty training. He has been going pee-pee on the potty since he was 1 years old, but never initiated it and his diapers were never dry. I have tried giving him marshmallows when he goes and he loves them. I also bought organic lollipops for when he goes poopy on the potty. So far he has had two. I really needed to get him out of the diapers and arm myself with lots of training pants, underwear, and paper towels to clean up messes.




I decided to first try out the Munchkin' Man's new Blueberry Daytime Training Pants. They are designed to feel like real underwear, but have the added protection unlike regular children's underwear. The inner lining is made with cotton velour, a hidden layer of super- absorbent micro terry and PUL. Anyone that is familiar with cloth diapers knows the wonders of PUL.



I truly love the fit of this trainer. I bought the size medium (22-30lbs.) The Munchkin' is only 27 lbs and they fit him just right! The fabric is so soft. The training pants come in 5 colors (above is the blue.) Since we are just really starting with no diapers, he definitely got them wet. With the added micro terry they were absorbed enough that it did not end up on the floor, but was wet enough for him to feel that he went.


The Blueberry day time trainers are only suggested for .. daytime :) I think we are far away from not putting on a diaper for bed time!! I would definitely recommend these trainers to anyone that is starting out with potty training. They are soft, fit great, wash up super, and have just the right absorbency!




We also started a potty chart for the Munchkin' Man. I decided to go with a Mickey Mouse theme. I cut out a large Mickey head silhouette, which was a pain in the tushies. I used my Cricut to cut out the small Mickey heads. When he goes on the potty, he gets to put a Mickey on the chart. I hung the chart on the wall outside the bathroom. He really likes being able to look at it when he goes into his room! He will place the Mickeys on the ears when he goes poopy. I was thinking that when he fills up an ear or the chart we can then take them off and go and get a special prize. He does not need anymore toys, so I thought we would go to the bookstore and he can pick out a special book.


Do you have any other potty training advice??? Please leave a comment and let me know what has worked for you!!




** I found the Mickey potty chart idea somewhere on the Internet and can not remember where. If it is you, please let me know so I can give you credit!! :)

MUFFIN TIN (CUP) MONDAY

I read a lot of blogs to find some new, fun and exciting activities to do with the Munchkin' Man. One that I have seen alot is the MUFFIN TIN MONDAY! I decided to give it a try today. I was at AC Moore (craft store) and found some silicon cupcake cups on clearance. They were $5.00 for 12 cups.

Today in the cups the Munchkin' Man dined on :

* Turkey roll-ups

* Cheese roll ups

* Celery with soy nut butter

* Nectarine cubes on cocktail pics

* Pretzels

* Zucchini bread

He seemed to like the idea of having everything in their own individual container. I love the silicone cups because they are easy to clean and can be used as a learning tool while eating (colors and shapes.) I definitely plan on doing the Muffin Tin Monday again!!

MY GRANDMOTHER'S ZUCCHINI BREAD

The first time I ever heard of zucchini bread was during one time when my Grandparent's came down to stay with us for a couple weeks. Although they were guests at our house, my Grandmother ALWAYS cooked. My mom always had her make Chicken and Olives. She was a wonderful cook and also baker. One day she told me that she was going to make zucchini bread. My reaction was "YUCK." I could not believe that something with grated zucchini would taste good! Well, was I wrong. I made sure I was a good little girl and tried the bread my darling Grandmother made..... YUMMY! I loved it! To this day when I here anything about zucchini bread it makes me think of her. I do miss her so!! I wish that she was here to meet my son! I know she is looking down (every once and awhile- she is probably busy up there) and is happy that I am passing on the tradition of making zucchini bread!

Below is the recipe that was in my Grandmother's recipe book.

Ingredients:

1 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 cups shredded zucchini

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons vanilla


1. Combine all ingredients completely

2. Grease 2 loaf pans

3. Bake approximately 55 minutes in a 350 degree over- check after 50 minutes- test center with a cake tester, it should come out dry.

*** I used a flower shaped tube from Pampered Chef, 2 mini loaf pans and a medium pan, with this recipe :)

I hope that you enjoy this recipe and if you have a favorite memory that goes along with a recipe from your Grandmother, please share!!!

WORDLESS WEDESDAY- WATER PLAY!!

The Munchkin' Man having some fun with the hose!!

A HOUSE FAVORITE--- STUFFED ZUCCHINI RECIPE

If your garden is anything like mine, you have TONS of zucchini!! This recipe is a "go to" recipe in our house. I found a recipe years ago and each time I make it I add something new to it!

Ingredients

1 LARGE zucchini (or 2 small) cut lengthwise and in half

1 cup of stock (I use what ever is on hand- I made chicken stock and froze it in 1 cup bags)

1 pound ground meat (I like to use ground turkey)

dried basil

salt

pepper

1 cup cooked quinoa or brown rice

2 carrots grated

2 stalks of celery chopped

1/2 onion chopped (you can add more if you like)

2 cloves garlic grated

Cheddar cheese grated

2 teaspoons tomato paste

** I like to add cherry tomatoes also, but my son and husband so not eat them

You can add any type of quick cooking veggies

1. In deep pan heat stock. Add In zucchini- cut side down. Season to taste with basil, salt and pepper. Let stock come to a boil. Turn zucchini about 2-3 min. Zucchini will be done when the flesh becomes soft. Take zucchini out of pan and set aside.

2. In pan start to brown meat- do not remove stock. When meat is almost cooked, add all vegetables. Stir all ingredients to make sure all are cooked. Add in tomato paste. While this is cooking, take a spoon and scoop out the flesh of the zucchini. Chop flesh and add to mixture. When the vegetables start to get a little tender add in the quinoa or brown rice.

3. Plate your zucchini and then add mixture on top. Immediately add your cheese to the top. If you are not bringing to table right away, you may put the zucchini "boats" with cheese under the broiler to make sure cheese is melted.

We usually don't have any type of side dish with this dinner because it is so very filling. I did make rhubarb cupcakes with organic whipped cream for dessert the last time we had this for dinner. The recipe for the cupcakes was from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book!

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This recipe is so very versatile. You can add any vegetables that you have on hand. If you are a vegetarian you can add tofu or just some more veggies. I added the quinoa to the original recipe to bump up the protein. Have fun and enjoy!!

MOMMY GUILT AND PEANUT ALLERGY

When your child is diagnosed with life threatening allergy to peanuts you go through many emotions. They range from fear, angst, frustration, nervousness, and of course guilt.

Unfortunately, we did not first find out about our son's allergy through routine allergy testing. I blogged a little about the awful day we found out. If you did not get a chance to read it, basically the day started with a peanut butter Whopper and then ended in the ER and a night stay in the hospital. Also included in the day was an ambulance ride and two shots of Epinephrine!! I don't want to ever go through that again, but that day plays over and over in my head each and every day.

Why do I have so much guilt?? Some may not understand. There is no answers to my question of..What made my son allergic to peanuts?? There are some theories of why there is such a rise in children that have a sever allergy to peanuts. One theory is the Hygiene Hypothesis. This theory suggests that because children have fewer infections (due to improved hygiene, their immune systems are more likely to target other things such as items in the environment and diet, resulting in the allergy. Although this theory has been examined by many, some have found this theory to have no merit.

So, where does that leave me??? If you are anything like me.. you turn to guilt!!! I began thinking that maybe I caused my son's allergy. Maybe all that peanut butter I ate while I was pregnant caused it. Maybe the peanut butter I ate while nursing caused it. Maybe the vaccines that I was told would be the best thing for my son caused it. GUILT...GUILT..GUILT.. When talking to a family member about the allergy she said that I watched what my son ate too much!! WHAT?? Now I have to feel guilty about feeding my son organic home made baby food instead of processed jar food that has no taste.

Guilt can run and ruin your life! I am working on not letting that happen to me. I try to make it a point to not think about it all day everyday! I have to admit, I have good days and AWFUL days. I worry about the first day he goes to school without me! I worry about going to birthday parties! I worry and worry and worry some more. I know it will get better. I am thankful to all the parents that have been handed this diagnosis before me and have done all the research. I am thankful that there are companies that cater to nut free products. I am thankful for the family members that have gone through their cabinets and taken out all products with nuts. Most of all I am thankful for the wonderful son I have that makes me smile and laugh each and everyday!!!

So, will the guilt run my life...hopefully not. I can not say "YES" yet, I am not there. With the help of others and looking into those adorable blue eyes my son has, one day I will be able to say it :)

My First Cloth Diaper Review- SMARTIPANTS

Although I have only been using cloth diapers for the Munchkin' Man for less than a year, I have a nice "stash." My stash has been growing thanks to Twitter, the social networking site. On Monday there is a large group of moms that sit at the computer and chat about the wonderful world of cloth. During one of those chats, I met Jessica, the owner of Smartipants. I love getting to know new products from the owner of the company. I decided to check them out!As soon as I went to the website and read about them, I put an order in that night.

The slogan for Smartipants is "SMARTER THAN YOUR AVERAGE DIAPER." The OS (one size) diaper system has:

1. Leak guard technology

2. Patentented Smart Sleeve

3. Soft waterproof outer fabric

4. Gentle stretch elastic

5. Adjustable Snaps

6. Ultra premium production

I was intrigued especially after reading about the Patented Smart Sleeve. If you have been using pocket diapers you know what it is like to have to reach into the pocket to take out the soiled insert(s)...YUCK. With the Smart Sleeve all you have to do is throw the whole diaper with the insert still in pocket into the wash. During washing the insert comes out and is as clean as can be when done. I have tested it many times and LOVE this feature!!!

I am new to snaps! For some reason I have a hard time getting them to fit right. I did not have a hard time with the snaps on the Smartipants. I also love the fact that for a OS, they are not huge on the small setting! I had a friend try one on her 2 month old to see how well it fits. It worked out great!

If you are thinking of trying a cloth diaper system, I would highly recommend Smartipants!!! As the website stated, they are "Committed to making cloth diapering not only easy but affordable." You can purchase a three pack of Smartipants , including three microfiber inserts for, only $36.95 (act fast though this price only lasts for 6 more days.) That is the best price I have paid for diapers that have such a wonderful quality!!!!

I know that if there is another baby in the future for our family, I will be purchasing more Smartipants cloth diapers

MY CLOTH DIAPER JOURNEY

I started to use cloth diapers with my son a little late in the game. Since he was born I have been interested in trying them. I would go online and search for cloth diapers. There were so many choices that is made my head spin. Did I want to try prefolds with covers, All in Ones, pockets or a combination of both. Then there was the whole washing thing. I would have to get detergent that was ok for cloth diapers.

Overload...then I turned off the computer.

Unfortunately I did not know anyone that was using or even has used cloth diapers to help me out. The Munchkin' Man has super sensitive skin ans I had already switched to eco friendly sposies. They made the rash go away over night- that was a major red flag for me and the "stuff" that is the regular sposies. When the munchkin' was about 18 months I did the search again and decided to just go for it I decided to buy just a few to give it a try. I stumbled upon http://www.kellyscloset.com/ One of the wonderful things that Kelly's offers is their Diaper Dollars http://www.kellyscloset.com/FREE-Diapers_ep_59-1.html#reward I bought three Bum Genius All in Ones in size large. I also decided to try two of the Fuzi Bunz seconds. Of course I also had to get detergent so I decided to try Charlie's.

I was so excited to get them in the mail. As soon as I finally made the first purchase I noticed a strange phenomena... I could not stop myself from searching and looking at all the cute cloth diapers out there. Then the package arrived!!! I read the directions on how to prep the diapers and could not wait. After they were dried we were ready to roll. I loved how they felt- so soft and cuddly not rough and not like paper. They looked so cute!

From there the addiction snow balled. I bought some Happy Heineys for the prints, bought some WAHM diapers off ebay. I was on a waiting list for the Gro Baby becuase I had to try it :)

My "stash" has grown so much from just those 3 diapers that I bought. When I started going on Twitter, I met some wonderful moms and tried their diapers- GADBaby and Smartipants. Although we are still on the journey it will be ending soon. He is almost 2 1/2 and I am getting very sad that I will have to pack up the diapers one day. That is actually funny to say that "I will miss diapers."

Why- Munchin' Man

I was thinking about what to write about and thought I would give a little explanation for the title of my blog. I started out with "Kerry's Little Blog", but that was boring. I figured that I was going to be writing mostly about my little man. When he was born he was so adorable and tiny to me. I have always made up strange songs so it only made sense that I would sing them to my child. One day I started singing "Do you know the Munchkin' Man.. the Munchkin' Man.. the Munchkin' Man.. his name is SJ." Obviously it is sung to the tune of The Muffin Man. He loved it and I kept singing. The next verse added in the street we live. He is now almost 2 1/2 and I still call him Munchkin'!

The Great Diaper Hunt

The Cute Caboose is adding to the fun for The Great Diaper Hunt by having their own giveaway!! Come and enter!

http://www.cutecaboose.com/pages/TheGreatClothDiaperGiveaway.htm

First attempt to a Montessori activity

I have been reading and reading and reading about Purposeful Play through Montessori activities. I have a few books and the Internet has been a plethora of information!

Why Montessori?

After year of teaching preschool, I have really come to believe and understand that children's brains are programmed to learn, but only if they are stimulated at an early age. Observing children can open your eyes to simple things that can be done to accommodate them to be more active participants in their leaning experiences.

* All children have "absorbent" minds

*All children pass through "sensitive" periods

*All children want to learn

*All children learn through play/work

*All children pass through several stages of development

*All children want to be independent

Together these form the core belief upon which the Montessori Method is based!

Now back to our journey. We have just begun! We do not have a room that is dedicated to Montessori activities..yet. I figured you always have to start somewhere.

Today, I tried our first activity. I saw something similar online and decided to see what we had in the house and see how the Munchkin' Man would respond to such activity. The pictures at the top is the activity for today. He had four plates that are four different colors all with a clear jar on top. Also on the table was a basket of sticks that had coordinating colors for the plates. The objective was to put the correct color stick in the jar with the matching plate. Hmm.. did that make sense? I introduced it to him and set him on his way. I was pleasantly surprised at how well he did right away. He seemed to fancy the blue sticks. This activity lasted between 5-10 min, then he was done and began dumping the sticks and doing other things that any 2 year old would do! I would make this as a success.

I look forward to doing more activities and reading more about The Montessori Way!

Recently, we found out the Munchkin' is allergic to peanuts!! It was not through routine allergy testing. We found out when he got hold of a peanut butter Whopper! One little Whopper led us to two shots of epinephrine, a ride in an ambulance and then a night stay at the hospital. We did have a suspicion that he was allergic, but for me I think I was in denial. Well, since that day, our lives have changed. We can not just go out to eat anywhere or at any ones house with out thinking ahead of time "Is it safe?". I personally have had a hard time adjusting to this! It is hard to think that something so small can take my son's life. Peanuts are in more things, not just food!

I am trying to be optimistic that in this day and age, there are so many resources that are there to help and guide us to have the Munchkin' lead a normal life! He already knows that he can not have peanuts and that we have to check boxes and ingredients. He may be small but he is becoming such a big boy!!

In September, I plan on putting a team together and to do the FAAA walk in Longbranch. I will post further details for anyone that wants to participate.

The awful pic of the Munchkin' Man is from his first peanut reaction. The last one we did not have any pictures and I am glad, I do not need a reminder of that whole day!!

New purpose

Ok.. I said that I was going to do more posts and then, well, I did not. I am totally addicted to looking at other people's blogs and have neglected mine. I would love to add more about the Munchkin' Man and what we do all day! I would like to also include future projects that I would like to do. This year a goal of mine is to make more handmade gifts. To do this, I would like to learn to sew better!!

Wow..

I started this blog for family members to see what we or I have been up to. However, it seems as if no one really looks at it. That is the reason why I have not posted anything lately. I am hoping to begin blogging more often to give more information and pictures.