Friday, January 31, 2014

Happy Lunar New Years!!


Dear Readers,

I wanted to thank you for such a wonderful year of blogging! Thank you for reading and I really hope that you all enjoy my posts. 

I wanted to wish everyone the happiest new year! May this year be filled with love, happiness, and wealth! 


Thursday, January 30, 2014

DIY: Toddler Activity Table

Supplies:
IKEA latt table
Wood stain
Wasi tape
Modge Podge
Roll of drawing paper 
Paper towel rod

Total cost: $35.


I really kept this project simple. I stained the wood, let dry. After it dries completely, build the table (so easy too!)

Used wasi tape to add some simple accents. Then used mod Podge to seal it.

I bought a paper towel rod at Daison (Japanese dollar tree for $2.00) and the paper roll at ikea.
The rod has a spring that tightens as you twist. This is perfect because I didn't need to drill holes! 
When he saw it, he gasped! He also ate breakfast quietly. 

He felt like such a big boy!

He also quietly ate snacks while I cleaned...

Colored while I did the dishes!

It's a perfect transition for toddlers!


Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Baby Girl Has a Name


Please say hello to little Miss. Lucy Addison Scaife. 


She's already developed a spicy but sweet personality! We are so excited for her arrival! 

Monday, January 27, 2014

22 weeks: Our Baby Girl!





How far along? 22 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: 11 lbs! Man I'm feeling very thick.

Maternity clothes? Still loving my maternity Ts, but regular dresses and shorts! It's hot out! 

Stretch marks? No but in so so dry I apply lotion on my legs and 20 minutes later I'm ashy... Any tips? I've tried coco butter, vitamin E, coconut oil... Everything in my house and nothing absorbs!!! 

Sleep? Yes!!! And now I want a nap during the day!

Best moment this week: Landon successfully had his first sleep over at my parents and we enjoyed a night out celebrating my sisters birthday.

Miss Anything? Sushi. A nice cocktail... I'm so boring lately, so I miss socializing!

Movement: lots of movement, especially at night!

Food cravings: i actually don't really crave anything like I did with my first pregnancy but I do like to eat! 

Looking forward to: finalizing my nursery concept and celebrating the lunar new year! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope! Second trimester has been easy!

Have you started to show yet: yes and every one points it out.. No shit Sherlock.. I'm 21 weeks pregnant!! 

Gender: a sweet little girl!!

Labor Signs: nope!

Belly Button in or out? IN.

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: happy happy happy!!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Toddler Meals: 7 Meals in 7 Days

Here are 7 easy meals your little one can enjoy throughout the week! 


Avocado & Egg Salad sandwhich
Black bean hummus & crackers 
String cheese


Spaghetti & Sweet Potato Meatballs
Pineapples
Black bean hummus & Crackers
Cheddar Cheese


Sweet Potato Mash (w/ cauliflower and broccoli)
Grilled Chicken
Pears


Spinach Bolani Bread
With Black Bean Hummus
String Cheese
Pineapples & Blueberries


Dominos Pizza
Trail mix
cucumber
Hummus & Crackers
yogurt


Spinach Scrambled Eggs
Waffles
Bananas 
Yogurt w/ prunes


Veggies Egg Scramble
Banana & Blueberry Pancakes


Friday, January 24, 2014

Toddler Activities: OH sweet Valentines!


Who wants to make simple valentines day crafts?!! We bought a set of card with envelopes from target last year.. There's 100 blank cards in a box. It's perfect for little activities!


All you need is some crayons, chalk, foam stickers and tape! Super easy and he literally sat and crafted for an hour! 


He just kept asking for more! After awhile he finished and said "done". 

This project was so easy and every card was different, all equally adorable! 


He loved sticking his tape and foam hearts on the cards! 

Grandma came over to help and they had so much fun together! 

Here is our masterpiece!! So adorable!


Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Toddler Activities: Play Centers

Let's face it... Our prestine perfect spotless Pinterest inspired Homes now look like 50 children ransacked the place. 

When Landon was born, I decided to have discovery centers instead of just housing "toys" (aka: junk). 

I only provide enough toys for learning. The others I store away. I try not to let him scatter toys. He will move them from place to place, but when I ask him to "clean up", he will organize his toys and put them back where he got them.

The trick is to not let children overwhelm or over exert children with their environment.  I will often put store his toys as a set and store them in bins. We rotate our toys weekly so he doesn't get bored. 

Centers:
"Home living" was introduced at 12 months. It's a great way for him to have a space to use his imagination, learn through play and reinact what he sees us do in the kitchen. 


A quiet area is very important for a toddler to unwind and re-collect their thoughts. We use a little blow-up tub and give him books that we rotate weekly.  
When he's acting a little nutty, I will tell him to "go read some books". He will sit and quietly look at books for 10-15 minutes.


A puzzle area is a great place to learn! I rotate puzzles 2-3x a day. We introduced puzzles at an early age. Around 12 months he started solving his puzzles. 

Landon can focus on 2-3 puzzles at a time. Pretty impressive! 

We brought in our outdoor basketball hoop over the weekend. Having a ball area is great for Landon's large motor skills, hand eye coordination and I love that he can "dunk" his ball. 
Such an athlete!


A building area is important for imaginative play, stacking, balance and hand/eye coordination. 
We offer blocks in all shape and sizes so he can learn to balance objects of different weights. This helps him to use his mind to problem solve. 

We have art time 1-2x a day. Drawing, coloring, painting is done in the kitchen. We introduced a magnadoodle because it's clean and mess free but it still allows him to be creative. 
He colors on this thing ALL DAY LONG!! He recently learned how to delete his art piece and start over. 



A car area is great for Landon. He recently has become obsessed with small cars. He got this track for Christmas. It's wide so he can easily balance his cars. 

His current favorite game is "traffic". Let's hope he doesn't have road rage like his father. 


Pretend play scapes are great for young children. Let's face it, you'll get tons of these toys for birthdays and Christmas. I will store them in the closet with their matching figurines. We rotate these weekly and I love to watch him use his imagination as he discovers how to play with his toys. 


Here's another play scape we love is the Mickey Mouse farm house! 
Here he is playing with it on Christmas Day! 

 A climbing area is a must for toddlers. We actually have a large slide but it's currently put away until his stitches heal. Climbing is great for toddlers to build balance and large motor skills. A snack mat is important.. Or any mat in General is important when your little one needs to be disciplined.


A large climbing area really helps a child burn off energy. 

 We will often have him sit on his mat for snacks or if he's being "crazy" I'll tell him to sit on his mat.

How to store toys:

When we are not using certain toys, we will put away most of it in closets and bins.



You can buy these bins at target for $.89.

I also store them with larger toys in the closet. This makes it easier to rotate toys weekly. Everything has it's place and I don't end up with random pieces laying around. 

I really hope this post helps! 


Sunday, January 19, 2014

Toddler Meals: Glazed Roast Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Zucchini




Hands down the fastest meal my my family has ever devoured. 



Makes: 3 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
2 sweet potato and 2 zucchini, peeled and thinly sliced.
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, plus additional to taste
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry
Chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss the sweet potatoes and zucchini in the olive oil and scatter on the bottom of a roasting pan. Roast for 15 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, honey, vinegar, salt, and cinnamon to make a paste. Rub the paste evenly over each breast.
3. Place the chicken breasts on top of the sweet potatoes and roast until the chicken is just cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Serve garnished with cilantro if desired.