Bunny Breakfast


The other day my daughter asked me to cook her some yummy boiled eggs for breakfast. As I was making them I remember a bunny shaped hard boiled egg picture that I saw on Pinterest. I was kinda bumbed that there was no link or directions on how to make it. I tried to make it from memory of the picture and it was so easy. 

All you need is 3 items. 
2 Boiled eggs
Broccoli 

Boil your eggs like normal. Let the eggs cool to the tempature you like. Peel the shell off the eggs. Take one egg and cut in half, long ways. One half will be the body the other half will be the head. Cut the second egg the same way. Take the yellow out of the second egg. On the second egg cut one half of the white in half, cut directly in the middle. That rounded part will be the basket.
Take the extra whites and cut to fit for legs, feet, basket handle, and ears. I just layed the pieces on top of where I wanted them. That yellow that was taken out of the second egg, you will now roll a small ball for the eye, nose and mouth. The rest of the yellow place in the basket. To finish place broccoli around the bottom to make the bunny look like it is walking in the grass. Now time to serve and enjoy. 
Hope you have a wonderful and blessed Easter! Let me know if you make this and  what your kids say about it. My daughter loved it. 



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I Survived Cloth Diapers and Lived to Tell About It



Today I am so thankful to have Margot Potter on my site blogging about cloth diapers. Margot is a designer, author, TV host and freelance writer. She’s written 7 books on jewelry making and worked with most of the biggest companies in the craft industry. You can find her at her lifestyle site or her metal stamping site. She’s also on FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle+, YouTube and Instagram. Please make sure to swing by her sites and give her lots of loving. If you know anyone who is expecting a new little bundle make sure you send this post to them. I think what you are about to read will inspire them to try cloth diapers. My little one is 6 months old and I am wanting to try the cloth (reusable) swim diapers. I am really considering trying cloth diapers to. Having to spend $40 every three weeks on diapers is getting very expensive.  Enough about me, let's learn how Margot survived cloth diapers and lived to tell about it.

This is Margot's daughter. Guess what she is wearing underneath that grass skirt?

My baby is 16 years old now, but way back when she was still in diapers we made a conscious decision to do things a little differently. She was born in a birth center with a midwife and a doula present. It was a peaceful transition into the world and one we were blessed to be able to experience. I was 34, the last year that a birth like this was possible. We brought her home four short hours later and began our journey as parents.
For the first six months of her life, we had a diaper service. Those months were a blur of feeding, changing, bathing, nursing and packing to move across state. The diaper service was a life saver. They provided us with a huge stack of clean cloth diapers each week and we provided the diaper covers. No dunking, no dumping and no soaking. The used diapers went straight into a diaper bin, were picked up from our front porch weekly and replaced with a freshly washed stack.
After we moved into our new temporary home, we started washing the diapers on our own. Yes, we dumped, dunked, swished and soaked in white vinegar before washing in hot water with a gentle laundry soap to protect our daughter’s sensitive skin. We had four dozen diapers and 2 dozen covers, which meant we washed about once weekly. Not a big deal, really. It saved us a lot of money and was a small thing we could do for the environment.
Our daughter stayed in cloth diapers until she began attending a pre-school and state laws required the use of disposable diapers. During school hours, we complied using organic and chemical free disposables while continuing to use cloth diapers at home. Only once was our daughter ever in a regular disposable diaper when a parent accidentally put it on her during school. That diaper was in our trash can during a rain and snowstorm and by the time the trash was finally picked up it had expanded to five times the size and a bright blue gel had oozed out of the edges. Eew.
When you calculate the cost of disposable diapers versus cloth the savings are considerable. We bought our diaper covers at Target and got the diapers at another site online. That one purchase of four dozen diapers lasted for the entire time my daughter needed them. Covers were replaced as they wore out and she grew, about twice a year. They had hook and loop closures that made it easy to change with a few folds of the cloth inside, no need for pokey diaper pins. There are a wide variety of options in the cloth diaper arena, I found the less expensive covers worked the best. Some of the more expensive covers that promised to “wick moisture” mostly made a mess of her clothing. Yes, there were a few leaks, but that happens with disposables too. If I had it all to do again, I’d do it the same way.
Don’t be afraid to try cloth diapers, especially with a diaper service. It’s a money saver and it’s great for your children and the environment. Our landfills are overflowing with plastic diapers that will never decompose. Looking at the options online, I think it’s still a viable and affordable alternative. It wasn’t that hard and it didn’t take any more effort than disposables. You can do this, I promise!

Margot Potter
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Homemade Carrot Baby Food




Don't be scared to make your own baby food. At first I thought I would not have time to make baby food. My busy schedule and working 40 hours a week makes for making supper a challenge. I  proved myself wrong.  It is easy to feed my baby homemade baby food. I have learned that if I steam any vegatables for supper that night I make more. I then take out a portion place it in the food processor and instantly I have my little mans food for the night and extra for the fridge or freezer. 
Follow these simple steps to achieve making carrots that your little one will eat that comes from your dinner table. 

Things you will need:
Steamer
Food Processor - I have Cuisinart Prep 9 cup food processor, that I love. 
Carrots
BPA Storage Containers -Glad makes an awesome BPA free plastic container that is just the perfect size for baby food. 

To start off you need to really wash your carrots. Some people use a solution to clean vegetables. As for me I just scrub and rinse very well. Try to chose organic carrots. If you are unable to get those then make sure you get the full size carrots. Don't get the baby carrots. Once you have cleaned your carrots cut the carrots up and place them in the steamer. Let the carrots steam until soft. It took about 45 mins for mine to get soft. When the steaming is done place the carrots in the food processor. Purée the carrots to the desired thickness your little one will eat. Use the left over juice and water to thin out the carrots if needed. Use only teaspoons. You can always add more to thin. Where you can't thicken up. When the desired thickness is achieved place in BPA free containers for storage in the fridge or freezer. 

I gave carrots to by little one for the first time the other night. I could not get the spoon in his mouth fast enough. Carrots are naturally sweet so it did not surprise me when my little man loved them. Since babies tend to like sweets more than other things.  Please note many people suggest that you should introduce carrots after 6 months, some say 7 to 8 months. You should discuss everything with your doctor if you have any concerns. What types of foods do you give your little one? Do you like making homemade baby food?







Having the Right Mindset for Breastfeeding



I smile when a soon to be new mom says they are going to nurse their new bundle of joy. Most all new moms want to nurse their newborns. Some want to do it for the health benefits, and others do it for the money that will be saved on not buying formula. No matter the reason why you want to nurse, you need to be reminded, nursing is harder than you think. You really need a strong mindset. You need to set a goal and try your best to stick with it. 
Nursing takes patience.  At the beginning there might be hurdles that baby and you have to overcome. It will be so easy to throw in the towel. You will come in contact with people who will say you need to supplement with formula or ones who say that the baby is not gaining enough weight. This is where you need to stand your ground. I was faced with almost throwing in towel with my child. I wrote it, about several months ago (read about that here). Make sure you choose a pediatrician that strongly supports breastfeeding. With my son I was thankful to have a supportive pediatrician due to nursing complications. 
Setting a goal before your little one arrives is very helpful. Make sure you let others in your family know your plan and your goals for nursing. My goal for nursing is to nurse my little one until he turns one year old. Then I plan to wean him to pasteurized milk by slowly mixing the two together. You just don't give up nursing over night. Especially when your little one is on a routine. You need to remind yourself of your goal and the benefits all the time. Especially when it is you waking up every 2 hours and not your spouse. When your nipples are cracked and sore or when your little one bites down on you and you are wanting to scream in pain, or when you are using all of your breaks and your lunch at work to pump milk for your little one and your not getting to socialize with co workers, never give up.
As soon as your little one is born, invest in a good double breast pump and breast milk storage bags. Try to store as much milk as possible. You never know when you will need it. There could come a time that your sick and the medicine your on is not in that B category. You might want a night out with friends or your spouse. Or you can be like me and accidentally leave the bottles full of milk that you expressed at work the day before in your breast pump bag overnight and have to pour it out. (That was heart breaking, it was like pouring liquid gold down the drain). 
Nursing comes with challanges especially when you work away from the home. This is where a  good double pump comes into play.  I have always been blessed with an employer that would provide me a place to be able to pump. Check with your supervisor or your HR department to see if they can offer you a quite place, private area for pumping.  Remember  that freshly expressed milk will stay fresh for over 8 hours on a cooler pack. I have a Medela ice pack that has indention's that curve sorta around the bottle. 
If I go out shopping or out for the day with my little one, instead of bringing my double pump I make sure I bring my hand held pump. I don't know how many times I have sat in a parking lot covered up with a blanket using it. My theory is that when you run out of milk you packed, just pump some more.
Besides all of the challenges that nursing can bring. It is so sweet to cuddle up with your little one and bond with them. Nursing is the best way to go. Good Luck. 

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Everything Baby

As parents we want whats best for our little ones. From the the moment they are born you have many decisions to make. Are you going to use cloth diapers or buy diapers? Are you going to breastfeed or formula feed? Then when its time to introduce solids are you going to make homemade baby food or buy manufactured baby food? Starting tomorrow I will try to help educate you on a series titled "Everything Baby".
I am proud to say we will be having Margot Potter who is a designer, author, TV host and freelance writer, guest blogging on April 14. She will be discussing the benefits of using cloth diapers, why they are better for your little one and the value on the pocket book.
There is still time to sign up to be a guest on the Nifty Thrifty Family. I can place you at the end of the series. Email me if you are interested. You are free to write about anything that relates to babies. If you don't want to guest blog. I would love for you to come visit and leave your wonderful comments about the topic that is being discussed that day.