I LOVE Caprese salad. I would eat it every night if I could. Wait…I’m an adult now…I can eat it everynight. Insert evil laugh here….. I digress. Once I saw this post on Heather Cristo Cooks I knew I needed to make it. So she really goes above and beyond with her ingredients. Home made pesto? Nope…straight from the jar with mine. Homemade Tomato Basil Soup. Yep, right from the Campbell’s Kitchen. Yes, I took all of the short cuts. Shame on me… it was so easy though. Step 1: pesto on bread…done.
Step 2: soup in bowls.
Step 3: bread on top of soup.
Step 4: cheese on bread.
Step 5: broil until the cheese melts and bread is toasty…just watch it until it looks like what you want.
Step 6 : EAT
Although I’m sure a better side dish would be some sort of green veggie, my hubbie wanted home-fries with Frank’s Hot Sauce.
It was super easy and super yummy. You can check out the original recipe for all of the “professional” tid-bits but this is exactly what I did. I picked out the soup, bread and cheese I liked…threw it all together and this is what happened. A magical, tasty 15 minute dinner.
This month I couldn’t decide just one book to choose from for Hucklebaby’s book club, so I picked two. I made the rules…I can break them right. One was a no brainer…The Bad Easter Bunny, because well…it’s Easter and fluffy fun Easter Bunnies are everywhere. Let’s give the bad one some love. The second book was Hookitty-Tookitty-Tah.
What stood out about both of these books is that the characters changed colors. Literally, on the page, they changed colors with their emotions. It tied in nicely to our baby signing class in which we focused on all of our colors this month. I was able to use both of these books to practice our signing, which I love, but also show that emotions can be colors too. Not sure if a six-month old can grasp that concept but hey, I’m starting young. Both books had amazing illustrations too and keeping a six month old little boy entertained is hard to do.
Neither one of these are board books (the only ones I let him read by himself)…but ones that I will keep on a higher shelf and read with him (I am so anal about pages getting ripped).
The Bad Easter Bunny has a great lesson…one for pretty much any age group. In a nutshell…the Easter Bunny gets angry that everyone takes him for granted and just expects things from him each year. He never gets any thank you’s, so he decides to break all of the toys and eat all of the candy.
Until a little girl reminds him that a little thank you can go a long way. I see so many kids that just expect huge gifts for every little thing. Not my kid! Well, hopefully not anyway. I want him to remember thank-you’s are one of the most important things you can give someone. I love that this book reinforces that message. It’s actually perfect for an Easter basket if you are still coming up with non-candy ideas.
Hookitty-Tookitty-Tah — the dragon is supposed to be mean and threatening, I kinda find him adorable. Not sure if that is what the author was going for. The jist is that the dragon will leave the town alone if he gets one thousand pies, one hundred cakes and a wagon made of bonbons. Easy deal right. Well then an old lady bakes with salt instead of sugar and the dragon losses it. He turns purple, pink, green and finally back to yellow. This one actually had two lessons. Don’t feed a dragon sweets baked with salt… and if you eat too many sweets you get sick. I wasn’t expecting that at the end but it was a cute little twist. Here is the dragon eating a salad to try and feel better. Oh and in case you are wondering Hookitty-Tookitty-Tah is a little boy character in the book who saves the day.
Hookitty-Tookity-Tah, written by Antonio Mugica and Herman Mejia.
The Bad Easter Bunny, written by Isabel Atherton, illustrated by Stephanie Rohr.
Have a book suggestion for us to add to the always-growing Hucklebaby library? Let us know. We are always on the hunt for a good read.
If you saw my previous Once Upon a Child haul I mentioned picking up a Nuby Mesh Teether/ Feeder. I promised a full review and I like to deliver.
After using it I wanted to buy a few more so while I was at Target I grabbed Munchkin ones (the only kind I could find there)…
After using both brands a few times…let me compare. They both have pros AND cons.
The first one I tried was the Nuby. $3.99 for a single one.
It comes in 4 pieces. The outer cap (which I never use), the handle, the mesh and the ring that holds the mesh on. It was very easy to figure out how to use and pretty self explanatory. We started out using it with avocado and banana. I did not like how messy it was when he was done with it. In order to clean it you must squeeze two sides of the outside and twist, yes it’s easy and I only have to do it while I’m cleaning it but still…
I didn’t think much about the white mesh until he ate banana out of it. We were at a baseball game and I wasn’t able to wash the mesh immediatly. I left it in a plastic container in the diaper bag and cleaned it a few hours later. As the remaining banana browned, so did the mesh. Yuck. I have cleaned and cleaned it. I know it is super clean…but it is still dingy. Plus like many of the reviews on Amazon…it is a pain to clean the mesh…a pain. but since I don’t have to do it a million times a day I don’t mind it as much. Thus the reason I went to buy a few more.
The second kind I tried were Munchkin — $6.99 for a two pack.
Different but the same. These do not come apart. Or if they do I can’t figure it out. Colored mesh…hahahah…very practical. You don’t see food stains in the green and blue fabric. They have a clasp type closure that makes it much easier to open and close than the Nuby. The ring handles are better for Hucklebaby’s hands to hold too. These are all huge plusses to me.
What I don’t like is when I try to wash them the mesh is attached to the plastic which is attached to the handle. I don’t think I can clean these as well as the Nuby.
I would love to take bits and pieces from both and make the perfect one for my kiddo.
I guess if it came down to it and I had to pick ONLY one to go with I would pick the Nuby. I am able to get replacement nets when the other ones get to dingy and ugly looking. I feel I can get the Nuby cleaner because I can take it apart and get in all the nooks and crannies. Clean wins out everyday for me.
P.S. — Nuby please change your handles to rings like Munchkins so Hucklebaby’s little hands can grasp it better. Thanks!
Who doesn’t love tiny painted handprints? After a little Pintrest inspiration and green tempera paint.
Waa-lah…Hucklebaby’s first paint project.
Even though the pictures might not show it, he loved squishing his hands in the sponge filled with paint. This project took six adult hands to get accomplished. I wasn’t expecting that…and for anyone who has actually done hand projects with a 5 month old that doesn’t squish their hands together please let me know.
I think I was making more of a mess by trying to stay clean then if I would have just let him go crazy.
Every time I would try to put his hand down, he would ball it up. It was funny actually and some of the handprints look nothing like handprints but blobs of paint. I was planning on doing 4 different canvases but stopped at 2. I’m not sure we would have made it to 4. That would take the stamina of running a marathon.
I’ll stop complaining. Overall this was a very easy project and something I’ll be glad to pull out year after year. A cute story that I can tell him as his hands grow and he learns to roll his eyes at his mother that tells the same stories all the time. Man…I love those little hands.
Here is our final project…maybe I’ll squeeze one more in before the 17th.
February has been such an eventful month…new milestones reached and toys discovered. One of my favorite things to do each day is watch Hucklebaby’s eyes light up as he is understanding and playing with a new toy. Some of the favorites he has been playing with this month are ones we have been playing with together.
Bright Starts Grab and Stack Blocks – There are 4 of these in a set, 2 of them have bells inside, the other 2 have the crunchy paper that seems to be included in so many baby toys. Whatever it is…he loves it. These are easy to wash too, which is a huge plus for me. I’ve thrown them in a cold load of wash and let them air dry. He likes gumming on the sides of them which has a fabric the feel of a dog collar.
Baby Bath Time – We enjoy the wash more so than the lotion. The lotion I found leaves a bit of a sticky feeling after I use it, but the wash is nice and calming. Anytime I smell it now I think…time for bed. It has become part of our night time routine. I’m pretty sure it will be a smell I always associate with him being a newborn. I’m ok with that.
Infintano Frog Chew – This also has the crinkle paper that he loves to chew. It’s nice that it has a hook on the top that can attach to most anything to keep it from falling on the ground. Plus you can just trow it in the wash and airdry…you have to know that’s my favorite by now. Easy clean toys.
Soft Books – A huge save. I went down the soft book road after he started chewing on his real paper books. He’s still too young to know how to treat his books but I still want him to be able to learn to love them without having to worry about destroying him. I have a whole pile of various soft books now.
Baby Einstein Discovery Drums – This is perfect for him when he is sitting in his highchair while I am in the kitchen. Me doing the dishes only entertains him for so long. I was worried he would try to pick it up and throw it onto our tile floor. I’m sure it wouldn’t survive too many of those trips…but he has been great with it so far and still enjoying it. Plus it lights up!
Rhino Toys Mini Beebo – This is easy for him to wrap his cute little hands around. It really wasn’t anything I thought was going to be a favorite. I think it was around $5.00 at Target that I grabbed one day when I was pregnant and had no idea what to get, but wanted to buy something for my baby. I grabbed this and I’m so glad I did. Perfect to wash in the dishwasher too.
I think I’m doing OK taking Valentine’s Day decorations down 4 days after the fact. I’ve been cleaning out the garage this past week so organization and purging items is something I’ve been thinking a lot about. Not decorations though. Those are a must keep. I’m organizing so I can make more. When my husband and I first met he didn’t quite understand why I needed to decorate for EVERY holiday. Now, he’s the one asking to decorate for Halloween in September. This is what my dining room table looks like right now. Hopefully he will be at work a little longer so I can get this cleaned up before he walks through the door.
Now it’s time to dig out St. Patty’s goodies. I was scanning Pintrest this morning for new decoration ideas and saw this picture. I laughed out loud because even though I have no issue with dragging in old logs from outside…I’m pretty sure my husband would have a coronary. Being practical I’m sure he would be convinced I brought in termites or ants or whatever other bug he can think of off the top of his head. That’s why I love him.
Hopefully I will be able to create more St. Patrick’s Day decorations in the next few weeks. I’ll make sure to post them if I do. Now…back to Pintrest, and to put the decorations away…I almost forgot. Yikes.
I can’t believe it has already been over 3 months…actually 4. I wanted to put together a list of our favorites for any other moms out there that might be curious. I was always looking for advice being a first time mom and now so many of my friends are becoming FTMs too!!! I covered all of these in the video below but here are the basics.
Swaddle Me Sleep Sacks. Hucklebaby would not sleep through the might without them for the first 3 months. After the first night of not having them…I knew how important they were going to be. I never bought them before he was born because I was scared if I got them it would be a waste of money if he wasn’t a baby that liked to be swaddled. My advice…buy them, keep the receipt and return them if you don’t use them. The reason is…you are going to need them a 2:00 in the morning when Walmart is the only store open and you don’t have the energy to go. You can always return them if you don’t use them but you will be so happy to have them there if you need them.
Huggies is the only Newborn brand I found that had a section cut out on the top for the belly button nub. All of the other brands needed to be folded down.
FYI: Huggies is Disney and Pampers is Sesame Street.
Old fashioned diapers. You can use them for EVERYTHING. I try to have them in every room in the house. They are soft enough to use on the face but strong enough to clean anything you might need too. Then you just throw them in the wash and they are good as new. I also had a friend tell me once they get all stained and ratty, you simply dye them with Rit and they look brand new again.
I found a great free app on iTunes that has about 40 different sounds that I love to use. My favorites are Rain, wind chimes and frogs. You can mix and match the sounds together. It’s great to have on my phone because I can carry it around and use it in the car, at the doctors office or in a restaurant.
I didn’t go crazy when I bought my breast pump. I just got the standard Ameda Purely Yours. I could have gone with the more expensive one but it came with a special bag. I have plenty of bags I can carry this in. I don’t really carry it out much. Being lucky enough to stay at home for a while with my little guy I usually use it at home. I think the bag would have just gotten in my way.
I love my NUK bottles. I only have the 5oz ones so far. They also come in 10 oz. Since I am primarily breast feeding I don’t need that many, they come in packs of 3. I have 6 of them. My husband uses them occasionally when I am out of the house or wants a little more time with him. I thought I would buy more to send to daycare with him, but since that won’t be for a little longer..we will probably be in sippy cups by then. My lactation consultant told me to get these while we were at the hospital so that’s what I did. I wish I would have known before I went crazy and bought a gazillion bottles before he was born. I was lucky enough to be able to return them and get other things I actually needed.
I’m pretty sure I would not have been able to sleep if not for my Rock and Play. We were able to travel easily with it so he was always able to have his bed for the first 3 months. I know there was a recall on these but it was because of mold. I never had that problem and I’m sure if you use the product correctly, you’ll be fine. We have this packed up so we have it for the next one.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.
Babies are not born with fingernails. They are born with claws. Be sure to pack baby nail files with you when you are packing your hospital bag. I wish we had because I think as soon as he was born he started scratching himself. I have one of these in every room. As soon as he falls asleep, no matter where he is, I can start filing away. His nails grow so fast…
What are the newborn baby products you couldn’t live without???
I looked at this toy forever. Every time we went to Target I would go to the B. isle. That’s what I called it anyway. I love the look of their toys, and can’t explain why. I think they are great for either boys or girls (gender neutral)…they don’t look generic to me, like so many other baby and kids toys. I always buy B. toys over Fisher Price or Bright Starts if I can. Target is the only store around me that has them. Amazon has them too, but Amazon has everything.
I would spin this thing so many times but never understood why it would be a good baby toy. We purchased other B. toys. They keys, bath blocks, toy cars and the big wooden block for Hucklebaby’s room that has different activities. These all have official names but that means I would have to look them up. I’m sure if you were at the store you would easily find the ones I’m mentioning. Anyway…I’m getting sidetracked.
This toy is simply wonderful and now that Santa surprised us with it, I wish we would have gotten it sooner. If Hucklebaby is happy he loves watching it while it spins. If he is unhappy it takes him out of crying while he tries to figure it out.
Of course he is too young to spin it himself but will sit forever just watching it while I do it. It is a great distractor in the car when we have been on adventures that seemed a little too long for him. Sure it is a little noisy but I’ll take that any day over him crying. (Let me mention, this is when I am sitting beside him and NOT driving.)
I’m not sure if he likes the noise more or the colors that spin around but whatever it is I’m glad we have it now. It might even make it onto my toy favorites. If you were in doubt about this toy just go ahead and get it… and no this is not a sponsored post. I just love their toys.
Do you have a favorite B. toy? Check out the other products they have here.
It’s the time of year that everything has pumpkin in it. Everywhere I go it’s Pumpkin muffins or cookies or coffees…I even have a Pumpkin Spice flavored icing mix (I’ll do a follow up post when I actually try it).
I saw this mix at Home Goods in the middle of their seasonal food items. Side note: I love Home Goods. I always find things that I simply MUST have while I am there. I picked this mix up there. I don’t remember how much it was, I know it was under $4 or $5. I just followed the directions on the back of the bag. I only had to add butter and eggs. This is super easy for anyone to do and something you could easily have your kids mix together and help with. It was a one bowl recipe.
It said it should make 24 cookies but I guess I always make my cookies too big. I have found the best way for me to portion my cookies is with a tiny ice cream scoop.
One strange thing that happened is that my oven was smoking almost like I had burned the cookies. I even yelled at my husband as they were coming out that they were going in the trash. It was so odd because as soon as they cooled and I looked at them it was like nothing had happened and they were baked perfectly.
They were pumpkin cookies but an earthy pumpkin, not a sweet pumpkin. They seemed to be a little dry….but don’t worry, we ate them all. ;) They aren’t bad but I would opt for a different pumpkin mix next time.
Years ago my grandfather made a doll shadow box for me, in the shape of a house. I had it in my room for quite a while but after I outgrew it I always felt that I should keep it. After making my parents store it for almost 20 years now, I finally came up with what to do with it. No, it was not always black. It had been just a natural light wood but was painted to go with my Halloween idea.
I also cut out a piece of black board to go on the back of it. You can see in the picture where I marked the outline of the rooms so I knew what parts needed to be decorated. I also picked up these scrap booking supplies to add detail. I LOVE Halloween scraping supplies and any reason to buy them is good enough for me.
These are the items each kit contained. You can never really tell just by looking at the outside packaging.
Using these were much easier than making my own.
I cut out scrapbook paper to fill in each “room” in my shadow box.
Using Modge Podge I attached the chip board pieces and paper.
Here is the final product. I started filling it with little Halloween decorations I already had. I have added more since taking this picture. My husband asked if I was going to do a Christmas themed house too. I just might because I can easily remove the board from the back. It just depends on my other holiday projects.
One was a no brainer…The Bad Easter Bunny, because well…it’s Easter and fluffy fun Easter Bunnies are everywhere. Let’s give the bad one some love. The second book was Hookitty-Tookitty-Tah.
