Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Nap Nanny Recall

I love my nap nanny but I did just find out about a recall.
http://consumerist.com/2010/07/30000-nap-nanny-baby-recliners-recalled-following-death-of-infant.html

Finn was getting too big and squirmy for his anyway, luckily he is graduated yo the tucker sling. I found one on ebay for $6.50 including shipping! They retail for $70+!!!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Carseats Galore and Extended Rear Facing!

So as Finn is approaching the 20 lb mark and the top of his carseat, I have been slowly researching his next seat. I assummed that at 20 lbs/year old more likely I would just turn him forward facing but after much research I have decided to what is called the the carseat world "extended rear face" Finn. Basicly it means I am buying a car seat with one of the highest weight limits for ERFing and plan to keep it rear faced until he hits that limit. Studies show and common sense that rear facing is the safest way (5x safer in fact!) for children to ride.

Here is info on Extended Rear Facing: http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

Rearfacing vs Forward Facing YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psmUWg7QrC8

Again another thing I had to research or I would have never have known! Luckily I stumbled across it! So scary as riding in the car is the most common cause of death among children.

My problem is the highest rated careat with the biggest weight limit the Radian 90 XTSL wont fit in my Honda Fit! ugh! which is annoying because this seat was also good for long torsoed kids.

I ended up considering the Comfort air and the New Britax Marathon 70. I chose the Britax 70. It has a 40# weight limit RFing and 70# FFing. It is smaller and more compact than the radian and will fit better in my car. The Britax 70 is Brand new and redesigned and I had to preorder it. What I really liked was it had a steel frame and the cover can be removed and washed! Seemed worth a bit more money for a washable seat with a bit better quality construction.
I got mine for 20% off and free shipping from babycatalog.com! I got the blue one not the pink in the ad!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Calzone How to!

My last recipe post got a comment asking for the recipe for calzones! They are super easy to make and very yummy!
I adapted this from rachel ray taking out the meat and adding more fresh mozzerella just like our local pizza place! original recipe is at http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=2676

•1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

•2 eggs, divided

•1-2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped

•1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese or romano

•1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, cut into small dice I used a fresh ball of mozzarella!

•2 tablespoons basil, chopped or dried

•Salt and freshly ground black pepper i think i added penzey's pizza seasoning too!

•1 ball pizza dough (I bought mine at wegmans!)

•1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar

Preparation Pre-heat the oven to 400˚F.

In a large bowl, mix the ricotta with one egg yolk and the garlic, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, mozzarella cheese, basil, salt and ground black pepper.
Dust a clean work surface with some flour. Divide the pizza dough into six balls. Roll out each dough ball to about 6 inches in diameter. use olive oil to stretch out the dough! Divide the filling among each dough circle, leaving a half-inch rim around the edge.
In a small bowl, whisk up the remaining egg with a little bit of water. Using a pastry brush, brush the rim of each filled dough circle, then fold in half to form a half-moon shape. Pinch the sides gently to secure the filling inside the calzones.
Place the calzones onto a baking sheet. Add the confectioner’s sugar to the remaining egg wash and brush the top of each calzone and cut three small! slits into the top of each one. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Friday, July 2, 2010

lovely quote

Cleaning and scrubbing will wait ’till tomorrow,
but children grow up,
as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs!
Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby.
Babies don’t keep.
 – Ruth Hamilton


Saw this on http://onlydustinthewind.blogspot.com/ and just fell in love with it...

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Glass Baby Bottles

Ok, so here is another thing I didn't think I would ever do! I have been reading safemama.com's website for awhile now, looking at her great cheat sheets of safest sunscreens etc. I thought originally since my bottles were BPA Free that we were fine and we probably were BUT...
We was our bottles on super sterilization mode daily in the dishwasher. When you heat plastic it leaches chemicals and starts to break down. After 4 months of heavy use our bottles are starting to show some wear.  I was looking at safe mama's cheat sheet for dishes and sippy cups for the future and thought to myself I should really switch to glass! I already had 2 glass bottles and found 10 more on Craig's list for $8! Our silicone nipples and rings from our medela bottles fit them perfectly. They are super sturdy and thick. Dishwash so nicely!
Thank You Safemama.com!
SafeMama.com!
Every mom should check it out! Who know that baby food in glass jars even organic has BPA in the lid lining or that many juice boxes are over the legal limit for lead!!!
I know, I know sometimes it feels like our job these days is protecting our children from all these hazards and it can admittedly feel overwhelming! We can only do our best each day, vote with our dollars, and make the best decisions we can for our family... even if it means changing our minds or opinions like I have!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Ganada Garage Sale!

Gananda is a big planned development in our area that has an annual garage sale. Its big, I mean really big. This year they were advertising over 350 houses participating. We spent 4 hours and got some great things! My best find so far was a wooden puzzle organizer with a dozen puzzles inside. Many of them were Melissa & Doug puzzles that sell for 10-12 dollars a piece. I got all the puzzles and the organizer for $8! I didn't know they were Melissa and Doug I just like classic toys and wooden toys! Very exciting!!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Grand Opening of Cottmamboo!

I have been spending all of my free time on getting this store up and running! Yesterday, I finally listed some items! More will be going up today and tomorrow! Let me know what you think or if you would like to see! In the future we may be adding gauze Moby like baby carriers, reusable snack bags and gift bags, unpaper towels, wet bags diaper covers etc!

Click here! http://www.hyenacart.com/cottmamboo

If anyone knows any HTML let me know!!! I could use a bit of help!