Transitioning from Crib to Bed... thumps in the night.

This do it yourself tip was one I developed out of necessity.  I wish I had figured it out when we put my oldest into a twin bed.

First of all, I advise keeping your baby in a crib as Long as Possible.  It is nice to have them contained and you don't have to worry about them waking and wandering the house.  My 2.5 yr-old has been able to climb out of his crib for a while now.  I think his older sister showed him some tips to climb out.  She's very helpful like that. At first I just told him very firmly not to climb out of his bed when I put him down.  He's pretty obedient when he knows I'm serious.  It worked pretty well for a month or two although he got out a few times when his sister got to him first. He didn't seem to hurt himself (luckily he's pretty cautious about getting hurt).  But it was definitely time to make the transition.

my little guy posing in his big boy bed

Tasty Whole-wheat Snickerdoodles

Okay cookies really aren't too healthy, but you gotta indulge sometimes.  I love it when I find wholesome wholegrain goody recipes.

Recipe found here:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/whole-wheat-snickerdoodles-i/detail.aspx

This is a really quick blog entry.  I just had to share.

I made these twice.  The first batch disappeared way too fast.  I made a double batch the second time (which it's really easy to have allrecipes calculate the measurements).

MY EXPERIENCE with this recipe.
I used Wheat Montana White Whole Wheat flour.  I froze the dough for 5-15min before rolling it in the cinnamon/sugar.  I used more cinnamon than sugar and got a nice dark crackled finish.

These cookies are heavenly straight out of the oven but I think they get even better after cooling and stored in an airtight container.  So soft and chewy and they kept well for 4 whole days (I'm sure they'd go longer just haven't had them around long enough).

King Arthur makes a white whole wheat flour... I've used it before very similar:

My Past Birth Stories

This is a long post.  Maybe you are not interested in reading about it.  Giving birth is amazing.  I have 2 very different stories.  I wrote both stories shortly after I had each child.

Becoming a Mom Again and Choosing a Care-Provider

Both of my kids at about 1 wk old.

So we let out our little secret yesterday.  We're having another baby due mid-November.  I have a few followers on here that I know don't use Facebook so I wanted to share here too. I've been pretty distracted figuring things out over the past few months.  It's hard to write posts when you've got baby on the brain (and you don't want to share yet).

Things Get Complicated 

Homemade Granola

I made my first batch of homemade granola last week and I'm hooked.  I got the recipe from this site:
http://www.greenplaterule.com/recipes/homemade-healthy-granola/

I bought coconut oil from Bountiful Baskets and picked up some chia seeds, I've never actually had them before but figured this was a good excuse to add them to my pantry.

I made it a little too toasty last week which made the raisins too hard.  So here is my new version.

Homemade Granola

Make your own Instant Oatmeal

My husband is going camping with the scouts tonight, I decided to look up my instant oatmeal recipe so he can take it with him for breakfast in the morning.  We love the just add water camping food.  So easy and hassle free.

I posted this a few years ago in a Facebook note. and decided to resurrect it here on my blog.

Make a much cheaper version of this convenience food.

I did not come up with this recipe I found it on some guys blog. He credits someone else...
http://www.grouprecipes.com/22495/make-your-own-damn-instant-oatmeal-packets.html (sorry about the profanity)

Kelty loves instant oatmeal. I use whole milk instead of water. I stir a little less than 2/3 cup milk in with the oatmeal, microwave for 1 minute and then add 1 ice cube to cool it off quickly. I have only made the brown sugar version (w/out cinnamon). Kelty loves it. She always eats every last bite of her oatmeal (unlike most other meals). I tried making it before I found this recipe and I could never get the proportions (or the consistency) right.

Eating Healthier

A few months ago I did a presentation for the ladies in my church group.  We had a night dedicated to Physical Wellness.  We had some very good presentations and discussions.  I found my notes from my presentation on Eating Healthier.  I read through them and expounded.  I needed to go over these too because I need to refocus on our diet.

The new food guide focuses on proportions. notice that veggies take up the most space.

Make Meals Healthier:  Change your mindset: “I want that, but I can't have it" to "I can have that, but I don't want it." The more you eat healthy foods, junk food loses its appeal (Hungry for Change).