Making Soap

I've had this package of glycerin soap sitting in my craft cabinet for a long time and it's been bugging me. I don't like items to sit around; I think everything should be useful and have a purpose. So, I decided I'd make some colored soap for the Eskimo. He recently received a set of cookie cutters in the shapes of different vehicles and I knew there had to be a way to melt the soap and pour them into these shapes. Here's what I came up with:

You will need:
-Clear glycerin soap
-Food coloring
-Play-doh
-Plastic wrap

First, get the mold ready. The only way I could get the soap to stay in the cookie cutter was to roll out some play-doh, put plastic wrap over it, and then press the cookie cutter down to create a seal around the bottom. This actually worked quite well, but if you don't have a perfect seal around the bottom, the soap runs everywhere. Do not despair, once it's cool enough to touch, you can peel it up, melt it, and try again. :) I also did this on a cookie sheet to spare myself the trouble of cleaning up the counter afterwards.

Next, grab your soap. I used either 3 or 4 cubes, depending on the size of the cookie cutter. Melt in the microwave for 30-40 seconds. Then, add 5-10 drops of food coloring. If you want really vibrant colors, go for 10. You could likely add a couple drops of fragrance at this point, but we tend to be a fragrance-free household.

Stir the food coloring in, and then very carefully pour the hot soap into the mold. I found it helpful to hold down the cookie cutter with one hand while I poured to keep it from leaking out the bottom. Then let it sit for about 30 minutes, until it's cooled, and there you have it!

These turned out really well and the Eskimo loves them. Definitely going to have to do something like this for a birthday gift for someone in the future.

Coffee Play Dough

So my efforts to keep the Eskimo occupied continue. And this recipe was a gem. I found it here through Pinterest. Play dough made with coffee grounds. It looks like mud, which my little construction worker LOVED. Here's the recipe:

2 Cups of Flour

1/2 Cup of Coffee Grounds

1 Tablespoon of Instant Coffee (when it wasn’t dark enough)

1 Cup of Salt

2 Teaspoons of Cream of Tartar

1 Cup of very hot water

2 Tablespoons of oil

I found it to be a bit dry, so I added some extra water until it was a better consistency. The Eskimo got to help me make it, which made the whole experience even more fun for him. Word to the wise: do NOT leave a huge bottle of veggie oil uncapped and unattended on the counter with a two year old present. Not even for a second. Oops.

This kept him occupied for over an hour in both the morning and the afternoon. I sat at his table and played with him part of the time, but he really wanted to be left alone in his imaginary construction zone. Note: since this play dough was a bit crumbly, this was a MESSY activity. There were play dough crumbs all over the floor. We have stained concrete floors, so it wasn't a big deal to clean up as it was dry enough to sweep up the crumbs. But, if you have carpeting, I would recommend putting something down to catch the crumbs. Have fun!

Adjusting to life with two kids...

Phew! It's been a crazy few months around here! Between having a baby, life with a newborn, and trying to complete my current term for my master's degree, life has been nuts. I take my final test for this term tomorrow morning, and then will be enjoying a well-deserved three month break from school. Hoping to spend that time getting my feet back under me and catching up on all the things that have been pushed to the side... like blogging and cleaning. :)

So I'm now the proud mother of two beautiful children. We all know the Eskimo, and now we have a new baby girl in the family.

She's nearly 8 weeks old already and has been a wonderful baby. But, we all know that newborns require a lot of attention. A LOT. We are still in the period of adjustment with the Eskimo. He's fantastic with his new sister, but has definitely been acting out in other ways. So, I'm trying to keep him busy. For my first few days home alone with him and his sister, this involved handing him my iPhone and letting him play games while I nursed and changed her. It worked, but I do NOT want my son turning into a game-zombie at the ripe old age of two and a half. We're kind of anti-screen-time in this house, and letting him spend that much time playing electronic games goes against a lot of what I believe in as a parent.

I decided I needed to come up with something creative to keep him occupied while I was trapped in the glider nursing his sister. I got out a small plastic tub, filled it up with a couple bags of beans and some diggers, and bam! Instant construction zone. :)

I can't believe how well this has worked. The beans are big enough that he can pick them all up when we're done with a play session. He also found some stacking cups and incorporated them into his play. I also limit the time that he's allowed to play with this. We keep it in the nursery and the only time he can use it is when I'm nursing and changing his sister. He loves it. I gave him his own special place in her room to store it and he proudly puts it away after each play session. So far, so good!

Oh, and glad to be back, y'all. ;)

"Ice-cream" for breakfast

Once again, a really awesome pinterest find led me to a delicious and healthy breakfast. The pin led me here and the Eskimo got to enjoy "ice-cream" for breakfast this morning. Check it out:

Here we have half a banana, coated in Greek yogurt and rolled in organic puffs. Then stick it in the freezer overnight. I used some popsicle holders I had laying around, but you could use a wooden popsicle stick too.

The Eskimo went nuts for this and he thought he was getting to eat ice-cream for breakfast. I will deal with the consequences of my deception later...

I can see this becoming a staple in our house. We eat a LOT of bananas around here anyway and the summers in Texas are so unreasonably hot. I was thinking of trying peanut butter instead of yogurt. You could also roll in granola, as the original post suggests. I'm thinking banana, peanut butter, chocolate chip for afternoon snack. Oh yum, this pregnant lady is already getting excited about it. :)

Best part? These are SO easy. You just have to remember to make them the night before so they are nice and frozen. Ok, back to studying. Which is, by the way, why I've been so absent as of late. Trying to get as many classes completed as possible before baby girl is born!

Weaning the Eskimo

Another post I have been avoiding is this one: the post about weaning the Eskimo. As far as I can tell, there are two reasons to wean your child: 1. It's the right time for you. 2. It's the right time for your child. If you're really lucky, those two coincide. I was lucky. The Eskimo weaned about a month after his second birthday. The last day he nursed was June 18th. Weird that I remember that, huh? But I do, and I likely always will.

I had recently discovered I was pregnant back in June, which explained why it was hurting SO much to nurse the Eskimo. Honestly, it felt like he was chewing on me. I couldn't nurse without cringing and it was reminding me of those first few painful weeks after we brought him home as a newborn. Weaning ended up being pretty simple for us. The Eskimo hadn't been showing nearly as much interest as he used to, and we happened to be heading out of town at that time. I decided the change in routine was a good opportunity to gently wean him. I just stopped asking him if he wanted to nurse, and stopped automatically sitting down to nurse with him at nap and bedtime. If he asked, I nursed him without hesitation, but with the change in our normal routine/location, he kind of forgot about it. He only asked once or twice and then we were done. It made me a little sad that it was so easy, but at the same time I was very grateful.

I am thrilled and blessed to have been able to nurse my son for so long. When I started our nursing journey, I really didn't expect to make it to six months. I was uneducated and we had a very rough start. But, six months came and went, a year came and went, we survived a couple of lengthy nursing strikes, and suddenly two years had passed. I'm sad that we no longer share that bond; I miss the one-on-one time we had before bed every single night. But we've replaced it with reading a story before bed, cuddling, and he recently learned how to say "I love you", which melts my heart every time. So, with the end of one stage, we begin another.

The Eskimo, nursing while reading his favorite book, back in January.

The Eskimo knows I have a tiny baby in my tummy and the other day, he pointed at my breasts and said, "Milk for tiny baby". Well, yeah, pretty much! I hadn't explained any of that to him, but he figured it out all on his own. He asked if he could have some milk, but my supply has completely dried up with the pregnancy, so I told him there wouldn't be any milk until the tiny baby got here. He was completely fine with that. Every so often now, he'll pat my chest and say "milk for tiny baby". It's adorable, but a little embarrassing when we're out in public. ;)

I think this is a really good opportunity to thank my husband for his unwavering support. There were a couple times when I thought I should just give up and wean, and he just looked at me and said, "why?". All the flimsy reasons I had at those times went flying out the window when I realized he not only supported me, but he thought what I was doing was great. We are both looking forward to having a brand new nursling come February!

Announcement

This crunchy mama is expecting baby number 2 in mid-February! We're very excited about the new addition to our family and the Eskimo is excited about being a big brother. Well, as excited as a two-year-old can be about something like that. :) I had my 16 week check up yesterday and the Eskimo accompanied me. He saw me lay down on the table while the doctor looked at my tummy. Everything looked great, but when we got home, he spent the rest of the day trying to get me to look at his tummy while he laid down on the sofa. It was cute! He definitely understands that there's a tiny baby in Mommy's tummy, but when I asked him what we were looking for in his tummy, he said "two tiny babies". Umm.... I hope not! ;)

We had a wonderful summer and spent most of it up North with family and friends. The Eskimo and I head up to Wisconsin and Illinois every summer to visit and avoid heat. This year my husband joined us for the last two weeks of our trip and we all went over to Michigan to visit with friends, hit the beaches, and go canoeing. It was amazing.

We came back at the beginning of August and jumped right back into our daily routine, with one major change. We started potty training! The Eskimo has been ready for this for a while, but I didn't want to start potty training with him only to backslide when we had to sit in the car for two days in a row (yes, we drove all the way up to Chicago/Wisconsin/Michigan and back). It's been going really well, but some days I really think it would just be easier to leave him in diapers. He's great about using the potty, but only when I remind him. And I hate having to be in charge of reminding him all day, everyday to use the potty. I know, I know, I shouldn't complain as this whole process could have been a lot more difficult, but I really don't enjoy being in charge of when another person uses the potty. I'd rather just wash and fold the diapers and be done with it. But, as I said, it's going very well. We have the occasional accident, but only when I fail to remind him to use the potty.

Other than that, things have been going normally, if a bit more slowly than usual what with me gestating and all. Between chasing a two-year-old, working on my masters degree, and adding another shift at work, this mama has been tired lately! I hope that y'all had as much fun this summer as we did!

Prep Time

Wow, we have had a whirlwind couple of weeks around here. The Eskimo turned two at the end of May and there was much celebration to be had! It started off with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa (hooray!) and our first trip down to the Texas coastline. The Eskimo really enjoyed the "big wa-wa" and the sand. Then, when we got back from the beach, I had to dive right into preparations for his party. Everything went off without a hitch, and we had an amazing time. I'll have to write a separate post about the party sometime...

But this post is about prepping for this week. My husband is out of town for work, which is fine, but I realized that I've never actually been completely 100% alone with the Eskimo for that long. Sure, we've been away from Daddy for long stretches of time, but always to visit relatives who could take over when I needed a break. Now I know there are a ton of parents out there who do this whole child-rearing thing all on their own everyday and they're awesome at it. Huge props to all of you! But my slightly compulsive need to over prepare for everything has taken over.

If you don't know, my background is in education. That's what my undergraduate degree is in and I'm currently working on a masters as well. So, I like to plan and I like to be prepared. If there's one thing you learn about lesson planning, it is to prepare way more material than you could ever possibly use. Because there's nothing worse than standing in front of a classroom full of kids with nothing to do. I have taken that same approach to this week. I prepared an extensive list of activities that has a nice mix of outside time, art, learning, and quiet time.

My husband left on Sunday afternoon, and the Eskimo took this opportunity to skip his afternoon nap. Of course. So, I let him wallow in his crib for a little while, then brought him downstairs and made oatmeal play dough. Normally my little man doesn't enjoy getting messy, but this play dough was a huge hit.

Thumbs up!

And I can eat it!

The key here was giving him utensils. An ice-cream scoop, a pastry cutter and a couple cookie cutters had him enthralled. This activity lasted over an hour. When it was all said and done, I didn't have the heart to throw the dough away. I mixed in some more flour, half a cup of sugar, two eggs, a little vanilla extract, baking soda, some coconut oil, and blue food coloring and baked "cookies"in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. I am not skilled at improvisational baking, but I figured these would work as dog cookies if all else failed. They are definitely not the most delicious thing I've ever made, but the Eskimo thinks they are his special cookies and he really enjoyed watching me make them out of his play dough. Plus, they're a pretty healthy snack, so I guess this one's a win. :)

So, we survived Sunday without too much trouble, in spite of the missed nap. My consolation prize was the fact that the Eskimo crashed immediately at bedtime. Phew!