Blog: 100 Days of Real Food

Here's a blog that I love:

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/

It is such a simple blog that shows you how to easily make whole, clean food choices.  My favorite part is where she says that with a whole foods diet, you no longer need to count fat, calories, or carbs.  Because when you eat only wholesome foods, it all evens out.  Makes it seem so simple!

There's a full list of recipes and snack ideas too!

Here's an excerpt from the blog under the 100 Day Challenge:

What you CAN eat:

1. Whole foods that are more a product of nature than a product of industry
2. Lots of fruits and vegetables(we recommend that you shop for these at your local farmers’ market)
3. Dairy products like milk, unsweetened yogurt, eggs, and cheese

CVS Photo Card Discounts

Attention families!  Now that you have kids, it's like an unspoken law that you need photo cards for the holiday! Your friends and family want reminders of how cute your kids are and how fast they are growing.

Check out CVS photo for affordable easy to make cards.

To simplify it, I started with the greeting I wanted (Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas...) then the size.  If you want, you can also search by number of photos (Good if you already have a couple photos in mind.  You can easily convert your photos to black and white or antique as needed.

The site is sticky and buggy at times but here are some great online coupons to use.  They both worked for me!

SHOPUS - %25 off your total order

CARDS30 - %30 off your order of photo cards (min 60)

Here's a link to more codes to try on RetailMeNot.

What's New: Bunny Rattle and Montessori Bell

Here's two new Infant toys for the babies.

The first is a plush baby rattle made from a lone such that lost it's partner.  It contains a bell thanks to my kitties who lent one of their jingle balls for it's construction.

Here's the tutorial if you want to make your own, there's another style as well.

The other is a Montessori bell.  Made for batting, grasping and kicking skills when dangled above a baby on their back.  It's equipped with a loop of elastic for a bit of give if the infant pulls on it.

Here's one you can buy on Etsy if you don't want to make your own.

Are You Giving to Toys for Tots?

Are you giving to Toys for Tots this year?  If so, consider the following:

Full text here.

Avoid buying and giving:

Toys with many small parts (for younger children)

Toys with breakable parts

Toys that require batteries, unless your also purchase the specific batteries for the toy.

Toys that are cheaply made in foreign companies. I know, this isn't easy anymore. So many toys are made overseas. But if you stick with familiar name brand toys, it helps.
Freebie toy give-aways (from McDonald's Happy Meals, etc.). These products are often recalled. 

Book Review: Green Baby

Green Baby by Susannah Marriot, published by DK.

I love DZ books!  There very visual, simple, informative and have generally a good subject base.

This book falls into those categories.  It's a simple overview on all things baby and how to make Greener choices in all areas of baby's life from bottles to diapers, to cleaning and clothing.

There's simple little charts at the end of each section that show "light green', 'mid green' and 'deep green' that show you how you compare in that area.  Though they're more or a goofy reference that a real indicator of your green level but it is funny to see what they think each level of Green is in that category.

Cloth Diapering: A Parent Quick Guide

I love cloth diapers!  For so many reasons, health, cost, landfill reduction, comfort, etc, cloth diapers may be right for you.

Check out this website called Real Diaper Association for more statistics and information on choosing to use cloth diapers.

 I want to make cloth diapers not only available, but easy and affordable for the families in my care so I developed this quick guide for how to easily and affordably get started in cloth diapering.

Currently cloth diapers are welcome in my child care and I strive to set up a full supply of cloth diapers to completely eliminate the cost to the families.  The families can choose at that point to continue with their own diapers (cloth or disposable) or use the cloth diapers while in child care only (I will change them into a cloth diaper at their first diaper and back into their own diapers at their last change). Update: we now have a small stock of items available for use but still ask that the family brings in the first set of flat or prefold cloth diapers and a pack of Snappi to get started.  A full time child will need around 2 packs of cloth diapers and a part time child will need one.  I will match your purchase in cloth diapers and provide all the training pants and covers.  

Until then, if you want to use cloth diapers, 

this is the easiest, way to go:

Good To Know

2013 marks 15 years for me 

in the field of child care!  

Thanks for being a part of these 

last 15 wonderful years!