A huge flavor!

Yes, I said flavor!  It sounded cute.

I have 59 followers in my Google Friend Connect box.  Could you please come to my new blog and follow me of there?  I tried my hardest to transfer everyone over, but Mr. Google is being a meany and won't let me! :(

I love you all!

The War on Eczema

There’s a war going on LBG’s house.

If you'd like to read mor about it.  Please see my new site HERE

Can We Blame It On The Dog?

I’m going to tell you a story.  If you are 12 year old boy in a 20-something woman’s body like me, you’ll be ok.  If you aren’t, you might want to run away… Fast!

To read the rest of the story, please visit my new site HERE

Guess what!

I have a surprise for you!!!!  

Please follow me HERE to find out!

When is a Sponge Not a Sponge?

When it’s made of cotton!  Wanna hear a confession?  I haven’t owned a sponge in almost two years!  That’s right… TWO! 

I may not have mentioned this, but I love to crochet!  I can knit too but, it just isn’t as fun as being a hooker!  I can it down and repeat the same stitch over and over again with out getting bored as long as there is a good movie or tv show on.  If I don’t have either of those, then a great conversation will work, too. 

Once upon a time, TF had mentioned that a friend of his used dishcloths rather than sponges for washing dishes.  It’s something I’d never seen, but I was intrigued.  A few years later and in the middle of a deployment, I found my hooks in a box.  I was given a huge spool of cotton yarn that seemed like the perfect material.  One night while incredibly lonely I sat on the couch with a glass of wine by my side and started to chain.  Then single crochet. 

Before I knew it I had some little wash clothes.  I instantly knew they’d be wonderful for wiping down the counters.  I gave them a try and they worked fabulously!  I was smitten.  If you could be smitten with homemade washcloths, that is. 

The next night I tried to make them a little denser so they’d work well for scrubbing.  What I came up with were little “dish-cleaning cloths.”  Instant love affair.  Since those two nights, we’ve not owned one sponge!  Ok, they won’t soak up the spilled coffee on a bad morning, but that’s what towels were invented for.

I keep a basket next to the kitchen sink filled with the cloths.  About 15 or so with each.  A fresh one for each day.  Before, I toss them into the dirty laundry, I zap them in the microwave for 15 seconds.  Make sure it’s wet, though.  Also, you might want to let it cool for a little while before you retrieve it.  Trust me.  I learned the hard way.  TWICE!  Then on laundry day, just wash them on hot with your socks and undies. 

There are two advantages to doing using cotton dishcloths. 

A-    One is that as long as you don’t use terrible chemicals, when they wear out just cut them up into smaller portions then compost!
B-    I’m hoping that I can use this as a cheap ploy to get LBG to help with kitchen cleaning when he is old enough.  I’ll make them in an array of colors and then he can choose which color he wants to use.  Then when one dies (all but one has lasted well over a year!) he can put it into the compost bin!  We’ll see if this plan actually works, but I’m optimistic! The kid’s going to need to learn to clean somehow, right?!

Now, for all those hookers out there, I’m going to share my patterns.  If you don't know how to crochet, I highly suggest hitting up youtube and learning how! 

These are my own and I’d really love it if you’d only used them for yourself and gifts.  Also these aren’t exactly scientific, but who cares?  It’s not like you are wearing them!  Also I don’t feel like using fancy abbreviations… so you will just have to read it all out!

Dish-cleaning cloths
Size F crochet hook
100% cotton yarn- worsted weight
no gauge

Chain 17
Turn and Single Crochet in 2nd chain from hook.  Continue across Single Crothet across.  Chain 1 then turn.
Repeat the Single Crocheting across, chain 1 and turn for 16 more rows. 
Bind off and weave in tails.

You’ll want to make the stitches fairly tight to give it a semi-scrubby quality.  The edges curl but it’s really not a big deal!


Counter Wiping Cloths
Size G crochet hook
100% cotton yarn- worsted weight
no guage

Chain 30
Turn and Double Crochet in 3rd chain for hook.  Continue Double Crochet across.  Chain 2 then turn
Repeat the Double Crochet across, Chain 2 for 16 more rows.
Bind off and weave in tails.

Tighter stitches seem to work better.

Happy Hookin’!

PS.  My digicam is charging right now, but tomorrow I’ll show you photos of my basket!

Fleece Carpet, Anyone?

I just realized that I haven’t updated you on LBG’s skin in a while.  Good news is that he’s slowly losing his crusty critter status and slowing becoming a baby again!  Bad news is that it involves lots of steroids. 

I’m pretty sure he’s on his way to have biceps that’ll rival Mr. Universe and balls the size of peas, but at least his skin is baby soft!  We just started our 4th, up you read that right, 4th round of steroids and this time he’ll slowly be weaned off them rather than cutting cold turkey.  He also is taking Nystatin, which is an anti-yeast/anti-fungal medication that was made specially for him.  He has two more weeks of that. 

We’ve worked out a lotion routine that seems to be helping as long as we keep up with it.  Lubing up my baby boy- wow that sounded dirty!- should be a full time job.  Seriously.  Three times a day we slather him up with a combination of Un-Petroleum jelly and California Baby Calendula cream.  You mix the two together then spread it on.  At almost all diaper changes, he gets a healthy dosage of extra virgin coconut oil applied all over.  We do the coconut for a few reasons.  One being that its super yummy smelling, but mostly because it’s a great moisturizer and is supposed to aid in killing yeast.  Can’t hurt, right? 

Even with all the lotions and medicines he still has a few dry patches that are so insanely dry it looks he started to turn himself into beef jerky!  Those are his super itchy places.

We’ve also learned that his has insanely sensitive skin.  Not just use-special-soap skin, but keep-him-from-touching-the-carpet skin.  Seriously, if he lays on the carpet for too long his forearms, thighs, and knees get really rashy and itchy.  As long as he’s on his blankets he’s fine.  Do they make fleece carpet?  If so, I’m in the market for some!

There is also a very special tactic that we have in place.  LBG has to be treated like a prince.  I mean, the kid is NOT allowed to cry.  If he gets mad, he gives himself a big ‘ol hug and scratches himself until he bleeds.  So for now, TF and I bow down and kiss his feet.

…and so should you!

Beaba BabyCook Review and Cookbook Giveaway

CLOSED

Remember a while back I wrote about making homemade baby food?  *You can jog your memory here* I showed off my beautiful Beaba BabyCook and told you it was an unnecessary item that I just HAD to have.  I’m totally and completely retracting everything I said.  You DO need a BabyCook! 

I never knew how much I’d fall in love with the little green machine.  Or how it would change my life. 

Of course, I use the BabyCook for making LBG’s solids, but I also use it to reheat them.  I just put the ice cubes in a small jar, fill the water to the “1” line and place the jar in the steamer basket.  In a few minutes his lunch is nice and warm!  If it’s a little on the thick side, I use some of the steam water to thin it just like I would when making it from the raw veggies.

Now for the fun part.  I even use it to cook for The Father and myself.  We recently realized we don’t eat as many veggies as we should so we’ve decided to have a veggie with every meal.  Instead of boiling water on the stove then steaming the green beans or carrots, I just pop them into the Babycook and within a few minutes I have enough for the two of us.  Same goes for my lunch.  I’ve made myself countless lunches of steamed broccoli, carrots, potatoes, etc. 

One night TF was staying late for work so I steamed some broccoli and potatoes for myself then made some yummy applesauce with cinnamon for dessert!  How cool is that?!

We’ve used the food processor portion for chopping garlic and onions, too.  Over the weekend we made our own hummus! 

See, I told you that you need one!  If you aren’t looking for spend $150, never fear, my dears.  Scandinavian Child has refurbished BabyCooks here.  They are in “like new” condition but might have some slight imperfections, aesthetically speaking.  They are 35% off MSRP!  How cool is that?!

I firmly believe in telling a company if you love or hate their products.  When I emailed Scandinavian Child to tell them how much I love my Beaba BabyCook, they surprised me with a cookbook!  Not only that, one lucky reader gets a copy of the Beaba BabyCook Book, too!!! 

Just a little about the book.  It was written by a French chef and has recipes for babies of all ages.  Each recipe has a shopping list, which is helpful, and different variations are provided so kids of all ages can enjoy!  LBG tried the Winter Squash Veloute for dinner they other night and loved it!  I’ve made the Cinnamon Cookies and Chocolate Cookies for TF and myself.  We just substituted regular cow’s milk for the formula.  They were fantastic!

So here’s how it works:
Please leave separate comment for each entry

-    Visit BeabaUSA then come back and tell me about one of their super cool products
-    Become a fan of Scandinavian Child on Facebook
-    Follow @ScanChild on Twitter
-    Follow @LBGsMama me on Twitter- that's me!
-    Tweet about the giveaway- 1 entry per day you tweet!
-    Follow me publicly using Google Friend Connect
-    Vote for me on Topmommyblogs.com <--- click to cast vote!

I will be choosing the winner using Random.org on Sunday, April 25 at 9pm EST.

Good luck!

A Few Mishaps at the Market

One of the cool things about making your own baby food is that your kiddo can try many foods that are not sold in jars.  I’m taking this opportunity and using it to the fullest.  I’ve made the decision that this week LBG will get to try parsnips.

After his 6 month checkup- he’s growing up big and strong!- I headed over to Whole Foods to see if they had any.  Prior to leaving this house earlier in the afternoon, I did some quick research, which means Google images, as to what a parsnip looks like.  As far as I know, I’ve never tried one.  Mr. Google Image told me they look just like a carrot only white.

As soon as I walked into the produce section, my eyes started skimming the sea of apples and oranges and potatoes until my eye landed on the ghostly beauties.  I was even excited they still had the greens attached, which means a little something extra for the compost bin!  As I’m putting the bunch into the little plastic bag (I really need to buy some reusable) the mister turns on. 

Oh yeah.  I totally get sprayed!  Not only that, LBG who’s pretending to be a monkey riding on my back gets a light shower!

It was probably a sign from the heavens that I should have taken a shower this morning.  To add confusion to the mix, I notice that the label that is holding the bunch together says “Daikon Radish.”  Being the terrible techie that I am, I left my iphone out in the car so that means I need to make an executive decision without the help of my friend Mr. Google.  I decide that this is probably a similar case of yams v. sweet potatoes.  Two very different animals, but in this country sweet potatoes are sold under both names.

Parsnips- Daikon Radish.  Tomayto- Tomahto.  On with life we go.

I gather a few other items that I need then head to the check out.  Dude, it was cold outside especially now that we are all wet!

When I get home, I do a quick google just to confirm my suspicion before I start slicing and dicing.  Well, gosh darn it, turns out they are two veeeeeeeeeery different animals!

Great googley moogley, what am I going to do know with a bunch of “Daikon Radishes?”

There is an upside to this story.  I tried kombucha for the first time.  It was pretty yummy!  You should try some fermented tea yumminess sometime.

Dinner with Dear Ol' Dad

This afternoon I asked TF if he would feed LBG his solid dinner.  I had no idea I’d have tears running down my face from laughing so hard! 

I’ve found that the best way to make banana puree is to mash it with a garlic press.  It’s messy but it gets the job done!  We let LBG play with a few slices while I turned the rest of the banana into a sloppy gunk.  It’s amazing how he will put anything in his mouth, except food!

Anyhooo back to the story.  TF scooped up the first spoonful of ‘nanas and LBG totally missed the bite.  Yup it went straight into his eye!  Of course, TF is a man and has to make sure LBG stays clean through out the eating process, so it was wiped up and then eating continued.  I swear each meal uses 35 cloth napkins! 

While TF was turning around to ask me a question, LBG reached over and landed his hand right into the bowl! {insert high pitch squeal here} No big deal, except that he that needed to scratch his head after.  I’m pretty sure he was giving us a sign that we should start washing our hair with banana puree.  I’ll have to ask him about it later. 

TF thought I was kidding when I told him that blowing raspberries while eating is appropriate table manners when you are a sweet little boy.  I’m fairly sure he got a few banana showers!  It’s ok, I’m sure it will make him sweeter. 

You’d think that after the first hand in the bowl experience, he’d learn not to leave the bowl sitting on the highchair tray. Nope.  This time the bowl was tipped forward right into LBG lap! {high pitch squeal and raspberry] A quick cleanup and the meal continued on! 

Soon LBG decided to start play a game.  It was the “pretend to be hungry but actually be full game.”  He has a tale-tell sign that he is full.  Locked lips and spitting out food if you can manage to get some in.  Not today!  He’d open his mouth, take a huge bite then spit it out {squeak} Rinse. Repeat.  I do believe I heard “he’s just screwin’ with me” uttered, but I can’t be certain.

I finally told TF that the meal was over and it was time to off LBG some water from his shot glass special cup.  Just as TF was making the sign for “water,” LBG reaches forward and snatched the glass right out of his hand and flung it over his shoulder! {shriek and giggle}  It was like a scene straight from a movie!  Luckily for us, it landed on the carpet and there wasn’t much water in it.  I guess the saying is true “never give a baby more water than you want to clean up!”

I love watching my boys have dinner together! 

Earth Day!

The Father and I took LBG to Nashville’s Earth Day celebration today.  We really didn’t know what to expect since we’d never been.  TF even asked “Are we going to see hippies?  You know how I feel about hippies!”  I have no idea what he was referring to since he is married to an almost hippie of sorts!  We didn’t expect it to be a huge shindig, but boy were we wrong!

We spent a good 20 or so minutes looking for parking.  Thankfully, I was driving so we were able to parallel park!  Once we arrived, we realized that we’d forgotten to pack LBG a hat!  I have no idea how this happened because I keep on in the diaper bag for such occasions.  We decided we’d slather him in sunscreen and try to stay in the shade as much as we possibly could.  We also planned to not stay for every long.  It would be a shame if we’d arrived with a baby and left with a lobster!

As we walked around and visited many of the booths, we learned about wind turbines, electric cars, tree conservation, and barges on the Cumberland River.  Something that really interested me was a booth for recycling your bycicles!  I have no idea how the process works, but it’s such a cool idea!  We met with a few farmers and learned about their CSAs which was really fun.  We keep saying that we are going to join one, but TF wants to wait until we move so that I’m not driving an hour each way to make the pickup times.  That semi-defeats the purpose. 

TF has a huge love affair with funnel cakes- or as they call them where he’s from “fried dough.”  He informed me they were different but similar concept.  I have to admit that I ate some, too.  How could you resist the yumminess of something deep fried then coated in powered sugar?  So maybe it wasn’t  the healthiest treat and TF rebelled by not putting the paper plate in to the recycling bin labeled “Paper,” but it was still yummy and that’s all that mattered. 

We’d assumed there would be vendors selling handmade crafts.  After all, buying locally handmade items is far more environmentally friendly than buying from a sweatshop in China.  After a 30 second discussion, we’d decided to try to buy a cuteh at for LBG so we’d be able to stay longer.  Not to mention toys always make things more fun!  Unfortunately for us, we couldn’t find any handmade crafts! 

The last thing TF, LBG and I did was learn about the Toyota Prius.  We’ve discussed buying one in the future, but we wanted to look at one without a salesman breathing down our spines.  Not only did we learn about hybrid cars, but we also learned about electric bycicles!. 

As we left, we saw some empty tents.  It could be that they are there for shade or later in the day some craftspeople would be selling their wares.  We don’t know. 

Since you’ve once again finished reading my rambling story, I’ll share a photo with you!  You’ll learn two things about me and one thing about LBG!

I have a love affair with strange sunglasses and I really need Photoshop!  LBG totally rocks spikey hair!  Even if it was sunscreen that we used.  Doesn’t he look like he’s trying to say “Can we just get out of here, now?!”  Don’t worry, as soon as we got back to the car, we learned he was in dire need of a fresh dipe!

We can’t wait to go again next year.  Hopefully LBG will be able to enjoy it more!