Candace Ott
I found this cute project recipe in one of my parenting magazines and thought I'd share!  It's an Eco-Friendly Play Dough that you can make at home for your little one to play with.

Photo taken from Google Images
Ingredients:

  • 1/2 Cup Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • 1 Cup Flour
  • 1 Tbsp. Beet Juice (or other natural dye)
  • *Optional* A few drops of essential oil like lavender or mint
Directions:
  1. Place salt, water and flour in a large bowl.
  2. Mix to combine, and then add dye.
  3. Knead until smooth.
  4. Store in a sealed container to maintain.

Candace Ott
What new mom hasn't stressed over her newborn?  Over the last 3 weeks, I've had my share of concerns:
  • Does this look normal?
  • Are babies supposed to be this gassy?
  • Am I producing enough milk?
  • When will this umbilical cord stump fall off?
  • What does this cry mean?
  • What is THAT?!
Probably the top two worries I've dealt with so far have been about belly buttons and diaper rash.

BELLY BUTTONS
One thing I forgot to ask the hospital about for my daughter, was the care of her umbilical cord stump.  All I knew was that it's supposed to dry up, and fall off.  That little stump nearly gave me a panic attack when I noticed a little dry blood at the base a couple days later.  I did my research online, and found two common care methods: 

1) Do nothing, except keep dry and let heal naturally.
2) clean base with a Q-Tip and 70% rubbing alcohol.

I tried each method a couple days each.  The stump started falling off in pieces over the week, to which I was a little confused about.  It still seemed a little oozy, and I was not feeling confident in my care for it.  A little blood is supposed to be normal I found out, but it still didn't give me any comfort.

Finally, at my daughter's 2 week Doctor appointment my worry was cured!  Instead of the previous two methods, the pediatrician said to use Hydrogen Peroxide with a Q-Tip to clean around the stump, gently pat dry, and that's it!  Within a matter of a couple days, the remaining stump fell out, and my daughter's cute little belly button made its appearance!

DIAPER RASH
Our daughter has been a big healthy eater from the start.  In the first two weeks, she gained double the amount of weight most newborns gain.  However, her slightly larger appetite also means more dirty diapers.  After a couple days, I noticed her rectum getting a little red.  

Initially, I used Vaseline, but after a few more days the rash got worse and my daughter let me know it with each diaper change.  I needed to try something else.  I stopped using wipes, and switched to cotton balls and water to clean her skin.  I also gave her a warm bath to soothe her little bottom, and some diaper rash cream for the raw areas.

The trick that really started to help, was actually baby powder - even though I read many places online that advised against it.  My mom used it, and never had to deal with rashes for her kids.  So after cleansing my daughter's skin with water and cotton balls, I applied a little rash cream to the affected areas, then lightly put some powder in her fresh diaper.  After closing the diaper, I gave it a light pat to disperse the powder inside.  Within a day and a half, her rash and skin started looking better, as well as my daughter's disposition during diaper changes!

I understand that all babies are different, and have different skin sensitivities.  These are just two tips that have helped me.
Candace Ott

It's been a while since I've posted a new recipe.  The recipe below is an easy one, and yields a gigantic pot of soup! It can feed at least 10 people, and is one of my new favorites for entertainment (and leftovers).

Photo taken from Google Images (looks identical)
Ingredients:

4 Chicken Breasts cooked and torn or cubed into pieces
8 cups Chicken Stock (two 32 oz. boxes)
2-1/2 whole Onions diced (yellow or white onions)
6 cloves Garlic crushed
1 large can of Crushed Tomatoes
1 reg. can of Crushed Tomatoes
1 regular can Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 whole Lime
3 tablespoon Chili Powder
2 teaspoon ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Red Pepper
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
5-6 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
1 reg. can Corn Kernels
2 reg. cans Black Beans (rinsed)
Tortilla strips/chips (broken into pieces)
-- Optional Add-Ons --
Cilantro
Cheese
Sour cream
Avocado

Preparation:
  1. In a large pan, cook chicken cubes with a little oil. Salt, pepper and paprika to taste. Set aside.
  2. In a large stockpot, heat 5 tablespoons of oil to medium-high heat.
  3. Add crushed garlic and chopped onions, and stir until onions just start to brown.
  4. Add the cans of tomatoes, cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder, salt, pepper, and half of the lime juice.
  5. Turn up the heat until it bubbles, stirring constantly, then gradually stir in chicken stock.
  6. Add diced chicken, black beans and corn kernels.
  7. Turn down to low and simmer for at least 10 minutes or more.   
Serving:
  1. When ready to serve, bowl the soup, then top with a mound of the tortilla strips.  Optionally add avocado, sour cream, cheese on top.
  2. Squeeze fresh lime juice into each bowl at the table.

Enjoy!
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Candace Ott
Yesterday my daughter officially turned two weeks old!  It's amazing how fast time flies as a new parent.  I can barely remember what day of the week it is.  Labor already seems like it was ages ago, as if we jumped forward in time.  Right now Emilee is napping, and so I want to take advantage of this quiet time to write.

In two short weeks, here is what I've learned about infants:

When they aren't eating or sleeping, they are going through diapers left and right (sometimes 2-3 in a row), spitting up, drooling on their fingers they've been sucking on, and even that little umbilical cord stump is an additional ordeal.  I've been pooped, peed, and drooled on... and yet, the statement "it's different when it's your own" remains true!  There's something about your own baby that makes all those things not so gross, just natural.  Your initial reaction to an explosive diaper isn't disgust, but rather to quickly clean your poor baby so you can make her comfortable and happy.  Sometimes all you can do is laugh when you hear that ominous rumble coming from your baby's bottom, and draw straws on who gets to change her next.

Infants aren't all mess and work though.  There's those moments when they are asleep, and all you can do is gaze at them in wonder.  So tiny, helpless and CUTE!  Then there's the wakeful periods of time where they are clean, happy, and just staring at you and the world around them.  My personal favorite is watching my daughter play with her facial expressions and make faces.  She doesn't quite have control of her facial muscles yet, but getting glimpses of her expressions is absolutely adorable!  These are the moments you cherish, and it makes all the messy diapers worth it.