Day 2 of 20-something Days

Ok so one thing I want to start getting back to is doing more projects with Cy and spending more time at home with the kids... and FOR the kids. 

Sleep is so so so important for toddlers and baby and often times I get very upset because I see parents not being respectful of their kid's needs.  When you had kids, you SHOULD have made a commitment that their needs come before your wants.  Staying out late or making the kid get less than 10-12 hours of sleep (each kid is different) a night is NOT fair to the kid.  Being out all day so the kid doesn't nap day in and day out is NOT fair to the kid.  Kids are to get 1-3 hours of nap in a day up until the age of about 2 or 3.  Some even go until 4.  I will talk a lot more about sleep later.  The reason I bring it up is because sleep affects soooo much of a child and is soooo important so I have decided to start staying home more.  Lulu is a very sensitive sleeper and will wake up at a drop of a dime.  Which is funny because I always thought you could train babies to be heavy sleepers - nope! Not this one! I have TRIED... she does NOT sleep if there is noise around.  5 months in and I am accepting her unique sleep needs and giving in! We will be staying on a strict napping schedule for her because her naps are sooo important for her growth and development. 

Ok the other thing is activities - I found this one amazing activity on pintrest - so fun! We took baking soda and dumped in a pan

Walrus HAD to help and yes, Cy still has a paci - that is one battle I am ignoring for now

Then I got vinegar and mixed food coloring in each container.  We started making mini volcanoes or BUBBLES!!!

We also talked about the colors and what happened if we dropped the red onto a green section - we watched as it changed colors.  Cy loved that the most!

We ended up dumping all 3 colors in and watching the bubbles

This was by far the coolest, most easy activity that we have ever done! In fact, he loved it so much, I rinsed out the pan and we did it again just seconds later :-) Also, I used expired, old baking soda - which is a great way to recycle and not just throw it out :-) This is seriously a MUST try for all mama's out there! Clean up was easy, what kid doesn't love bubbles, and this seriously kept Cy entertained for an entire 10 minutes - WOW!!!!

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

The other day, for activity time, Cy and I made Peanut Butter Banana Muffins.  It was so fun! I love baking with Cy - he is starting to repeat everything and baking is a perfect time to talk about measurements, practice his skills of dumping everything in the bowl and not all over the floor, and practice listening (Don't touch that, don't dump that, don't do that, don't eat that - you get the point).  I found this recipe off a health website and it's amazing! We made mini muffins which are great for portion control and snacks :-)

Another idea I had was to tape Cy's used paper down on the floor to help with clean up. It was so awesome! All the sudden I didn't stress if he spilt egg on the floor because I knew I was just going to wrap up the paper and be done with it!

Ha - he was trying to figure out whether or not to "listen" and put the salt down... or dump the salt ;-) *See the paper on the floor? Recycled and awesome!*

We got to baking - I let him add everything himself and crack the eggs.  We talked about the difference between wet and dry, observed the different sizes of measuring cups, and felt everything!!

Here is the recipe, give it a try!!

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins


Makes 12 Muffins

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup quick-cooking oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons salt

2 large eggs, beaten

2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

3/4 cup 1% low-fat milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped (or finely chopped if your kids prefer them that way)

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil or coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oats, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, banana, milk, brown sugar, peanut butter, oil, and vanilla until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped peanuts.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins and cool an additional 5 minutes before serving.