Babies Gotta Have It

My toddler won’t eat.

Well, except cookies…and bananas….and raisins…and toast. She hearts cookies and bananas and raisins and toast. But finding a way to get protein into her sweet little pudgy tummy is a challenge I face every day.  And from what I can tell, I’m not alone in this.

I do have many wonderful staples that I got from the terrific baby cookbook, “1, 2, 3,  Cook for Me ” by Karin Knight.  I profiled this great resource in an earlier post, “Because Baby Cannot Live on Captain Crunch Alone.” Probably should change that to Cheerios.  `Cuz I sure have tested that hypothesis.  Karin Knight’s book has recipes for toddlers too.  But I’ll admit, I’ve gotten lazy.  I don’t introduce new foods with the regularity and enthusiasm I used to.  I want my child to become an adventurous eater!  I need to pull that book out again.

My brilliant sister-in-law, however, put me on to a wonderful new recipe that seems to be a pretty surefire way of getting at least four bites of egg down the hatch, and sometimes many more.  This isn’t a cooking blog, which is a good thing because what I’m about to tell you is so not in recipe form.  But “Cheesy Scrambled Eggs” is the new favorite in my house.  So here’s how I did it tonight. Melt a little butter in your frying pan.  Beat an egg (or several eggs if you want some and they are so yummy that you totally will) and a splash of milk in a bowl until they are frothy.  Pour the mixture in the frying pan and add a scoop (maybe a tablespoon for one egg) of cream cheese. Don’t put in too much cream cheese or the eggs will be too runny.  Then if you really want to push your protein luck, add some finely chopped up, thinly sliced deli ham (but beware, one nearly imperceptible sliver of ham, when tasted by your toddler, may immediately be spit from her mouth making the entire dish, formerly deemed “yummy” into something that will not be suffered for another moment).  Let the eggs cook over low heat until they just begin to set around the edge of the pan, then scramble them until they are soft and fluffy.  At the last moment, sprinkle some grated cheese over the whole mixture.  Cheesy Scrambled Eggs have indeed been deemed yummy by my finicky tot.  Try ‘em. They’re delish.

So here’s the thing.  I recently worked out with exercise pro Cathe Friedrich. I’m guessing many of you know her from her incredibly popular exercise DVDs. She’s amazing and the workout, while challenging no doubt, was actually pretty fun. I couldn’t walk the next day, but I dragged around those aching glutes with pride.  Cathe’s workout was held in conjunction with an announcement to the media (and me…somehow I slipped in there) that she  has teamed up with Eggland’s Best Eggs to promote regular exercise and healthy eating all across America.  After the workout, we feasted on yummy omelets made to order with Eggland’s Best Eggs.  What is it about a guy in a fancy hat doing my bidding with an omelet pan that makes my heart go pitter pat?

The amazing folks at Eggland’s Best want you to try some Cheesy Scrambled Eggs…and some omelets…and some French Toast…and devlied eggs…heck they want you to enjoy a year’s worth of scrumptious egg dishes.  On them. Yup.  One lucky Babies Gotta Have It reader will win a year’s supply of Eggland’s Best Eggs. And want to have abs like Cathe’s? You can get those too (albeit with a bit more sweat than it will take you to get the eggs)!  The winner will also recieve one of Cathe’s amazing workout DVDs–signed by Cathe Friedrich herself.  And to help you in your amazing egg prep…an Eggland’s Best apron and spatula.

Eggs and abs. Yeah, that’s something Mama’s definitely gotta have.

To Enter the Eggland’s Best & Cathe Giveaway:

• Take a swing by the Eggland’s Best Website. Check out the collection of yummy egg recipes you can make with their Farm Fresh White Eggs & Brown Eggs, Cage Free Brown Eggs, and Organic Brown Eggs, and leave me a comment saying which recipe you’d like to try.  That’s it! Entering is that easy!

***Want extra chances to win? Do anything listed below and leave me additional comments for each one letting me know what you did!  Maximum of four entries per person.

• Follow me on twitter (click the birdy button on the left to do so easily) and Twitter this giveaway (I’ve even made it easy for you, just cut and paste): @BabiesGottaHavT is giving away a year’s supply of Eggland’s Best Eggs! http://tinyurl.com/kp8l9r
• Blog this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)
• Subscribe to my blog using the button on the left
• Grab my button and put in on your blog! Button code is in the right sidebar.
• Become a Fan of Babies Gotta Have It on Facebook–just click the link on the left sidebar!
• Email your friends about the giveaway! cc me in the message–I promise I will not spam you or your friends. Cross my heart

Your email address will remain private and not be shared with anyone. Giveaway only open to those with U.S.  addresses. Giveaway begins on Wednesday July 1st and ends on Wednesday July 15nd at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Thursday July 16th,  Random.org will select the winner I’ll email you immediately. After my baby called Larry the Cable guy the last time she did a drawing, we have decided to take a little vacation from her choosing the winner. Random.org is in no way as cute and unpredictable as my baby, but it is much more efficient and does not use any pieces of paper, even recycled ones. I am sure you will understand. Thanks for entering!

Is it summer where you are?  It has pretty much been raining for four months straight here in NYC.  Today when the Bean woke up from her nap, dappled sunlight filtered into the windows. I slathered her in sunscreen, I put on her water shoes, we streaked out the door, headed for the playground with the little water fountain sprinkler…and it started to rain.  Again. So I got a mocha light frappuccino, we went home, and blew bubbles in the bathroom.  No joke.  Did you know that if you blow bubbles in the bathroom you can really really really hear them pop?  It’s kinda cool.  And a mocha light frappuccino only has 110 calories.  That’s making lemonade.

Not to get all Annie on you, but I think the sun is coming out tomorrow.  And staying out for several days.  The weather must needs get hot very soon. The fourth is days away.  And when you’re packing the sippy cup and snack for that playground run, make sure you remember Mama needs a drink too.  Oh does Mama need a drink.

You have exhaustively researched safe sippy cups and bottles for your baby…but what about Mama?  Mama needs to go BPA free too!  And just in time for summer, my friends at NoPlastic.ca are giving away two, count em, two 12 oz stainless steel bottles with sport tops to two lucky Babies Gotta Have It readers! You pick the color!

Mama loves stainless on her appliances, but why bottles too?  The NoPlastic.ca stainless steel bottles are ultra light, good for hot or cold beverages, toxin-free, BPA-free, Clean tasting, and Dishwasher safe. Oh and they have wide mouths so you can easily fit ice cubes in!  Need I say more?

To Enter the NoPlastic.ca Sport Bottle Giveaway:

• Take a swing by NoPlastic.ca. Check out the the 12 oz. Stainless Steel Sport Bottles and leave me a comment with your favorite color.  That’s it! Entering is that easy!

***Want extra chances to win? Do anything listed below and leave me additional comments for each one letting me know what you did!  Maximum of four entries per person.

• Follow me on twitter (click the birdy button on the left to do so easily) and Twitter this giveaway (I’ve even made it easy for you, just cut and paste): @BabiesGottaHavT & @keepithealthy want you to cool off with a Stainless Steel Sport Bottle! Enter to win! http://tinyurl.com/l7ob8v
• Blog this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)
• Subscribe to my blog using the button on the left
• Grab my button and put in on your blog! Button code is in the right sidebar.
• Become a Fan of Babies Gotta Have It on Facebook–just click the link on the left sidebar!
• Email your friends about the giveaway! cc me in the message–I promise I will not spam you or your friends. Cross my heart

Your email address will remain private and not be shared with anyone. Giveaway open to those with U.S.  or Canadian addresses. Giveaway begins on Wednesday June 24th and ends on Wednesday July 8th at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Thursday July 9th,  Random.org will select the winners and I’ll email you immediately. After my baby called Larry the Cable guy the last time she did a drawing, we have decided to take a little vacation from her choosing the winner. Random.org is in no way as cute and unpredictable as my baby, but it is much more efficient and does not use any pieces of paper, even recycled ones. I am sure you will understand. Thanks for entering!

“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” - Galadriel of the Elves

I have this quote on my Facebook page.  I believe it. And so does the Nature Conservancy.  They have created Idbids, a very sweet collection of plush toys for kids, with the belief that if we teach our children about conservation as early as we teach them their colors and shapes, we can change the world.

Not to get all oogly boogly on you here, but I love that.  And these toys are sweet sweet sweet and green green green.  Lola the Flower, Waverly the Water Drop, and Scout the Cloud are made of 100% organic cotton (even the tag is printed on recyled paper with eco-friendly inks). And these toys are definitely Not Made In China — they’re made in Egypt from Egyptian cotton!

You know I love stuffed dolls, baby or flower or otherwise.  So what message is this Idbid flower doll sending to girls?  According to the tag, “Lola’s  pretty, a fact it is best not to forget.  Happily she also believes that ‘pretty is as pretty does.’ She is wise, sees both sides of an issue, is a natural mediator and offers well-reasoned advice.”  Ok, so I love that too.

My baby girl calls her Idbid “fwower.”  When she gets older, she can go to the Idbids website, click on The Nature Conservancy, enter her personal code, interact with Lola and her friends, and help protect Lola’s habitat. The name Idbid comes from “Iddy Biddy” –  as in even those who are iddy biddy can make a difference.   Oh, and fifty cents from each purchase will be contributed to the Nature Conservancy through February of 2010 with a minumum contribution of $10,000.

Cute, conscientious and consevationist cuddly toys for toddlers and preschoolers?  Yeah, that’s something baby’s just gotta have.

I worry sometimes that this blog is unfairly biased towards baby girls…because I have one, and I have discovered so many delicious baby girl products.  But Father’s Day is this Sunday and it’s time to remember that all Daddies were once messy little boys with frogs in their pockets and rocks in their shoes and pudding all over their faces.

We love baby boys!

And so do the folks at Wow Baby!!!  Oh yeah they’ve got sweet sweet girl patterns, but their baby boy bibs and burp cloths are beyond beyond.

We love Wow Baby. Why? Many of the bibs are made from natural, organic bamboo; they are all certified to meet all safety standards; and the fabrics are fantastic.  I also totally love the side closures, the adjustable neck fasteners so the bib can grow with your baby, and the most unique feature - the bib liner that snaps on to the back and keeps the blueberry juice from soaking through and staining the Mickey Mouse tee that Aunt Gretchen brought back from Disney World.

And just for all your sweet baby boys, the wonderful gals at Wow Baby have sent me a  boxed set of two beautifully made Signature Stripes Bibs (just look at that little embroidered dolphin on the side) to give away to one lucky reader.  Got a baby boy on the way?  Or one or two at home? This set is perfect for twin boys!  Enter to win now!

AND AS A SIDE NOTE…I am still looking for a baby boy named “John David” to give the most adorable personalized bib from Girle Bird Boutique to!  I am starting to think there are none out there!  If you know a baby John David, please email me immediately (babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com) and I’ll send this bib right out to you!

To Enter the Wow Baby Boy Bib Giveaway:

• Take a swing by Wow Baby. Check out the her  Bibs and Burps Collection and leave me a comment with your favorite pattern besides the Signature Blue.  That’s it! Entering is that easy!

***Want extra chances to win? Do anything listed below and leave me additional comments for each one letting me know what you did!  Maximum of four entries per person.

• Follow me on twitter (click the birdy button on the left to do so easily) and Twitter this giveaway (I’ve even made it easy for you, just cut and paste): @BabiesGottaHavT loves baby boys! Win a set of 2 baby boy bibs from Wow Baby! http://tinyurl.com/naktyn
• Blog this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)
• Subscribe to my blog using the button on the left
• Grab my button and put in on your blog! Button code is in the right sidebar.
• Become a Fan of Babies Gotta Have It on Facebook–just click the link on the left sidebar!
• Email your friends about the giveaway! cc me in the message–I promise I will not spam you or your friends. Cross my heart

Your email address will remain private and not be shared with anyone. Giveaway only open to those with U.S.  addresses. Giveaway begins on Thursday June 18th and ends on Thursday July 2nd at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Friday July 3rd,  Random.org will select the winner I’ll email you immediately. After my baby called Larry the Cable guy the last time she did a drawing, we have decided to take a little vacation from her choosing the winner. Random.org is in no way as cute and unpredictable as my baby, but it is much more efficient and does not use any pieces of paper, even recycled ones. I am sure you will understand. Thanks for entering!

Baby dolls for girls and boys are baby must-haves as far as I’m concerned!  It’s so 1955 but my Little Bean loves hers.  I got her a Melissa Mae doll from the wonderful Etsy seller Bit of Whimsy Dolls as a Christmas gift and I’m so glad I did!  These dolls are designed and handmade here in the U.S. by a mompreneur and I think they’re gorgeous. The Bean, quite obviously, loves her “dolly.”

She also loves her doll stroller. I can’t find the exact one she has online but this one by Castle Toys is pretty sweet and nicely priced!

Baby doll love…yeah that’s something baby’s totally gotta have.

There are so many great ways for your kids to keep in touch with their grandparents these days…they can email, they can skype, they can write a good old fashioned letter…or your toddler can call them on your cell phone when you’re well into your third hour at Lowe’s because the bathroom is suddenly falling down around you and your child has tired of turning on and off every single faucet in the fixtures aisle and will not be duped into pretending to wash her hands yet again and to really make her point she’s threatening to pitch a full fledged tantrum right there in front of the vanities if you do not immediately produce a bottle of milk and you’d really rather not haul her writhing body the one mile between your shopping dolly and your car while she’s red faced and howling.

But another wonderful way to keep Granny and Pops and Grammie and Grandpa fresh in our thoughts is through reading children’s books about grandparents.  The “My Grandma Could Do Anything” series from Rein Designs is a really fun and funny series designed to do just that.  I especially like the basic theme that Grandmothers are like superheroes, capable of doing anything and everything…if they simply choose to do so.  65 is so the new 40.  Your Grandma may not bungee jump…but then again, maybe she does.  And she definitely could!

Update from the author! I’ve just had an email from the author letting me know that two new titles are coming out this Friday: “My Grandma Could do Anything at the Zoo” and “My Grandma Could do Anything in the Rocky Mountains”! We’ll be sure to check them out!

It’s about danged time I had my own TV show. Thanks to the fabulous Mae Mason of Mutha Mae, the only blogger I know who has a TV development deal (rock on Mae), I now do.  Or at least, what may be a regular appearance in an online parenting video show that she’s creating, exploring how the experience of parenthood varies drastically simply based on where you live. Cool idea, no?  This is one of, like, one hundred eighty shows that Mae is creating, producing and everything-ing from her home in St. Louis while the folks in Hollywood figure out how best to use her considerable talents.  They are dragging their feet and making shows starring the Octo Mom and lots of blond rich chicks instead. Who exactly do they think is gonna watch this stuff?

So back to me…in my episode, I show you in gory detail the challenges of going grocery shopping with a toddler here in the biggest of apples. Yeah, we don’t have supermarkets. We have bodegas. We don’t have shopping carts with little racecars in the front.  We don’t have shopping carts at all. And how do you get all that food home? You carry it. While you push a stroller. In the sleet and the snow and the freezing rain and the humidity. The entire way. It’s super fun. Check it out.

And thanks Mae. You’re the best.

Have you seen this kid? I’m not really one for posting random YouTube videos on my blog, but this kid totally cracks me up.  This video was posted two years ago by Black Oleg who calls the baby a “small daring boy.”  Okay that’s weird. But watch it.  You will laugh.

But more to the point, who makes that groovy bib?  I have seen the Baby Bjorn Soft Bibbefore and thought it looked like a pretty cool invention.  The cheerios littering my Little Bean’s splat mat could feed a small army of mice.  A plastic bib with a pocket would certainly be handy.  But the little blobby character on the small daring boy’s bib isn’t quite the same one as on the Baby Bjorn bib. Perhaps he’s sporting an older model…?

Either way. Funny vid. Cool bib. Gotta have it.

So my Mom is coming to stay at my apartment tomorrow.  For four days.  Needless to say, from the moment I click “publish post” to the moment of her arrival, I will be cleaning my apartment.  Which, I must admit, is totally filthy. Totally. Filthy.  I have a  toddler. Splat mat or no splat mat, there’s gonna be oatmeal on the walls.  Am I right?

I have been so tempted lately to hire someone to clean my house.  Even just once a month. I know that other parts of the country are dirty, but the kind of nastiness that accumulates on windows in New York City is something that must be seen to be believed.  It is black soot right out of “chim chiminy” and totally terrifying when you pause to think that if it’s caked on your window sills it’s more than likely caked in your lungs.  Doc Hubby has confirmed this.  He did Gross Anatomy at med school in New York City.  Enough said.

The thing is, the reason I haven’t hired someone to clean my house is that if my Mother found out I was paying someone to do what I can “so easily” do myself, she would at worst disown me and at best not get me any Christmas presents for a year or two.  However, if anyone would care to tell me what’s easy about scraping lentils off hardwood floors with my fingernails while my toddler trashes the living room I’m all ears. Thanks to a super fun and super indulgent event I attended a few weeks ago, I have a bunch of Pledge Multi-Surface Cleaner to use in my scrubbing marathon.  I have to say, it’s working very nicely–I am enjoying the  Lavender Fresh scent immensely (though if you’re sensitive to scents I’d advise you to go easy on it — click here for a $1 coupon), my dining room table looks lustrous, and since I removed the inch thick layer of grime I feel like I have a brand new TV. Oh so that’s why people are so jazzed about HD.

But it’s all good, really.  This will be the first weekend Doc Hubby and I have left the baby and taken off by ourselves since she was born.  We’re going to Maine.  To stay in a coastal inn where his grandparents used to stay. The weather promises to be cool and sunny. The lobster rolls at Bob’s Clam Hut are to die for.

And oh yeah, when you’re here, Mom?  Feel free to pledge the windows!

Babies Gotta Have It hits the road for Memorial Day weekend, and takes along the Chic&Cozy Blanket Bag by Chic Tots!  Check out the video to see the bag in action on Chincoteague Island. Its water-resistant outer fabric makes it perfect for hauling baby gear to the pool, beach, or park and its soft terrycloth liner is a wonderful play mat or diaper changing pad. It’s a terrific size for your baby, and just big enough for you as well (assuming you, unlike me, manage to lay off the leftover burgers, icebox cake and sweet tea from the holiday weekend).  Makes a hip and stylish summer diaper bag, and no kidding converts to several different styles.  I tried it.  It worked.  Use it as a tote, a shoulder bag, a stroller bag, or a backpack simply by adjusting the straps and securing them in various velcro loops cleverly attached to the bag.

This is one super cool baby bag.  So super cool, that Parents Magazine featured it…and Target is now carrying it at 800 stores nationwide (find it on Target.com starting at the end of June).  Going to a baby shower in the coming weeks?  The Chic&Cozy Blanket Bag would make a totally unique baby shower gift. Buy a Chic&Cozy Bag at Target between now and June 13th and get a thank you gift from Chic Tots when you visit this link!

Or just win one here!  Yup, thanks to the amazing folks at Chic Tots (who sent me the bag and also made the fantastic coverall bib I reviewed here) one lucky Babies Gotta Have It reader will hit the pool toting this hip bag in a fabric of her choice.  Want to enter?  Read on!

To Enter the Chic&Cozy Blanket Bag Giveaway:

• Take a swing by Chic Tots. Check out the Chic&Cozy Blanket Bags and leave me a comment saying which fabric you’d choose if you won.  That’s it! Entering is that easy!

***Want extra chances to win? Do anything listed below and leave me additional comments for each one letting me know what you did!  Maximum of three entries per person.

• Follow me on twitter (click the birdy button on the left to do so easily) and Twitter this giveaway (I’ve even made it easy for you, just cut and paste): @BabiesGottaHavT wants you to hit the pool in style! Win a Chic&Cozy Blanket Bag! http://tinyurl.com/nue836
• Blog this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)
• Subscribe to my blog using the button on the left
• Grab my button and put in on your blog! Button code is in the right sidebar.
• Email your friends about the giveaway! cc me in the message–I promise I will not spam you or your friends. Cross my heart

Your email address will remain private and not be shared with anyone. Giveaway only open to those with U.S.  addresses. Giveaway begins on Thursday May 28th and ends on Thursday June  11th at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Friday June 12th,  Random.org will select the winner I’ll email you immediately. After my baby called Larry the Cable guy the last time she did a drawing, we have decided to take a little vacation from her choosing the winner. Random.org is in no way as cute and unpredictable as my baby, but it is much more efficient and does not use any pieces of paper, even recycled ones. I am sure you will understand. Thanks for entering!

Update…

And the winner is: Result: 53

Congratulations Carol!  And thanks for being such a loyal reader, follower, and giveaway participant!  I hope you love love  love your bag!