love, marriage, baby carriage

06/28/16

2 Ingredient Play Dough Recipe

I try not to buy too many toys – I don’t want to overwhelm my daughter (or myself!) with a bunch of “stuff,” so we keep a small basket of toys out we use every week, and any extra toys are put away to circulate in the mix when needed. This system works really well for our family, and Ginny is never bored!

However, now that she’s an extremely active, curious toddler, I’m searching for hands-on sensory activities that she’ll enjoy that doesn’t involve stuffing our play room with the dreaded “stuff.” Can any parents relate to this?

I think you’ll all love this $2, 2 ingredient play dough recipe (if you can even call it a recipe) to make with your kiddos. You may already have these ingredients on hand, and if not, take a trip to the dollar store for the following: conditioner and corn starch. It’s really that simple!

A quick trip to your cabinet or the store and two minutes later your kids are enjoying their new play dough.

06/27/16

10 Protein Packed Snacks for Toddlers

My daughter has always been a good eater, sometimes even out-eating my husband at mealtimes, but we all know what inevitably happens between meals – snacking, of course.

When it comes to toddler nutrition, you should make every meal and snack count. It’s so easy to fall into the habit of grabbing endless handfuls of processed or pre-packaged snacks because, come on, we are all busy parents, am I right?

But busyness or processed food convenience shouldn’t be the reason to stuff your toddler with empty calories or bad sugars and fats. In fact, preparing healthy, protein-packed snacks takes very little effort and promotes those growing taste buds to appreciate delicious, healthy food. Plus, by making sure your toddler snacks have a protein element, they will fill up faster, getting them out of the habit of mindless snacking of carb or sugar-based snacks.

06/13/16

Tips for Toddler Eating from Real Moms

Since my little one started having solids at 6 months, my husband and I encouraged her to explore our table food on her own. Instead of spoon feeding bland, nutrition-less rice cereal, Ginny enjoyed sucking on barbecue ribs, pieces of broccoli, cauliflower, eggs, fruit, pieces of fish, avocado, and other yummy nutritious foods. Anything we eat, she eats too, and we have yet to find a food she doesn’t enjoy. As she moved from baby to toddler, she definitely has her preferences, just like we do as adults – blueberries are one of her favorite foods, but sometimes she wants strawberries and eggs instead, or where she sometimes likes a plain chicken breast, she lets us know if she wants it with some sort of dipping sauce in that moment.

It’s incredible to see her little personality shine through at meal and snack times, and while she’s not a picky eater, I know all kids are different so my story may not resonate with you. That’s why I spoke to other real moms to share their tips, tricks, or advice for feeding toddlers.