Mommy FTW

What’s Cameron Eating? – British Muffins!

betsy — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:47:45 +0000

Cameron enjoys toast – peanut butter toast, french toast – but sometimes you need a change. So when I was at Trader Joe’s recently I picked up some of their whole wheat “British muffins” (English muffins) and some tasty toppings.

I’ve been toasting them lightly and putting hummus on (per my pediatrician’s recommendation), or some peanut butter and honey. I was even thinking of Apple or Pumpkin butter (though I haven’t gotten to those yet). Another mom also told me that her toddler loves the cinnamon raisin British muffins. Next time, I’ll give those a try!Related Posts:

Children’s Programs at the Chevy Chase Library

betsy — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:56:00 +0000

This week I’m heading back to DC with Cameron (for more pool time at the Wilson Aquatic Center!) so I decided to do a little research on the local Library (the Chevy Chase branch located at 5625 Connecticut Avenue) to see what sorts of baby friendly reading programs they have in case we’ve got some spare time. Here’s what I found listed on the Friends of the Chevy Chase Library web site. Looks like they’ve got some good offerings!

Chevy Chase Library (via flickr)

Baby Time!
Thursdays at 9:30 am
Books, Lullabies, and Bonding
A program intended for babies and their caregivers

Story Time!
Thursdays at 10 am
Stories, Songs, and So Much More
A program intended for children ages 2-5 and their caregivers

Family Time!
Wednesdays at 7 pm
Stories, Arts & Crafts, and FUN
A program intended for children and their family members

I don’t think we will make Baby Time on this visit, but we will try to in the future! I think this just goes to show that you should check with your local library to see what kinds of things they have to offer you and your little one.Related Posts:

Busting Some Serious Dust… And Cheerios… And….?

betsy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:20:30 +0000

I’ve never really felt like I “needed” a dust buster until Cameron started throwing anything and everything (mostly food items) on the floor. I can’t tell you how many Cheerios I’ve stepped on in the past week – creating that oh-so-hard-to-clean-up Cheerio dust. I knew now was the time to get myself a dust buster! I went to Amazon.com to see what the options were. I am a sucker for well reviewed item, so in the end I went for one that had 155 reviews with an average of 4.5 stars – it had to be good, right?! And, indeed it is!

This baby has some serious power!

This little number from Black and Decker isn’t going to be winning any beauty pageants any time soon, but it sure does the job! So far, I haven’t met a chunk of who-knows-what it can’t handle (although I am sure Cameron will do his best). The only thing I wish is that it was also a wet-dry-vac. But I don’t think any cordless hand held is going to do that for you. At a price of just under $55 – I am sold on this one. Cameron even claps when I get it out! Give it a try if your little one loves to leave treats underfoot.Related Posts:

What’s Cameron Eating? – Freeze Dried Fruit From Trader Joe’s!

betsy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:42:13 +0000

Another mom was telling me about her daughter’s love of Trader Joe’s Freeze Dried Mangoes, so I went and picked some up a few weeks ago. I was pleased to see that there were no other ingredients besides “mangoes” in this treat! They have the consistency of Astronaut Ice Cream (if that means anything to you guys?!) Anyways last Friday I was at Trader Joe’s again and I noticed this time they had a lot more freeze dried fruit options – I picked up some blueberries, bananas, and strawberries in edition to the mangoes. Healthy treats with a long shelf life – not too shabby!

Yum Yum, Gimmie Some!

What are your favorite toddler and baby snacks from Trader Joe’s? Leave a comment and share with us!Related Posts:

Cameron’s Favorite iPhone App – Peekaboo Barn

betsy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:47:34 +0000

The iPhone App Peekaboo Barn was first recommended to me by a mom friend. It took me awhile to get around to downloading it, mostly because I usually go for Free iPhone apps, and this one costs $.99 Well, when I was on the train ride home coming from DC with Cameron I downloaded it in desperation – and it saved me! And it has continued to entertain Cameron through many sticky and boring situations. Let me tell you, the $.99 price tag is well worth it.

The app is fairly simple: A barn appears and shakes, enticing the child to tap it. Once tapped, the barn doors open an an animal appears. Tap again a child says the name of the animal (in Spanish, if you like!). Another tap closes the doors and the game starts over with a new animal. The one main failure for me with this App (and every App) is that Cameron eventually just presses the button on the phone, exiting himself out of the game. Hopefully he will soon realizes that brings the fun to an end!

Peekaboo Barn - Hours of Baby Fun

What is your little one’s favorite app? Leave a comment and share with everyone! Just click “Write Comment” at the top of the post.Related Posts:

Affordable (and Really Nice) Play Kitchen From IKEA

betsy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:59:46 +0000

Cameron is really interested trucks, cars, fire engines, and that sort of thing – but I know a lot of baby friends his age are into pretend kitchens. I’ve seen at a few mom’s houses the IKEA kitchen (DUKTIG series) – it’s nicely made, really cute, and very affordable!

So Cute - And the price is so right!

The bottom part (stove, cabinets, and sink) is only $99 and the top attachment (microwave) is $39. Now, the only problem is finding a place in your apartment for it!Related Posts:

Neighborhood News Updates – Story Time and Pratt Post Office

betsy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:13:22 +0000

Hi all – I had two bits of Fort Greene / Clinton Hill news I wanted to share.

First – I was at Story Time yesterday at the Clinton Hill Library and it seems that the usual woman has moved libraries and is gone for good. They have a stand in named Steve (I think) and he didn’t give the impression that he was going to be the permanent person in charge. He seemed a little awkward, but everything worked out fine. I saw another mom who was at the later session and she said Steve told her class that they might not have the funding to keep Story Time going for more than 6 weeks. I hope this isn’t true! It’s such an amazing resource in the neighborhood. Yesterday there was quite a crowd!

Lots of strollers yesterday at Clinton Hill Library

Secondly, I also went to the Pratt Post Office on Myrtle to get the mail from my P.O. Box. I wasn’t sure what to expect since they quietly and quickly announced their closing. There was a truck outside that was selling stamps (no money orders, according to the postal worker).

Get your stamps here....

They were also letting people in to use the APC machine and drop items in the big box in the foyer. I was also allowed to walk into the actual post office and pick up my mail. The postal worker said they decided to keep it like this until actual construction begins. Sounds reasonable to me! After that, she said, who knows. Yikes…. She recommended that people with P.O. Boxes check their mail daily for now.Related Posts:

Cool iPhone App for Social Moms – Gowalla!

betsy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:07:47 +0000

Gowalla is a really interesting App for the iPhone that can help you meet up with other moms (or friends!) and it’s free. Often used in conjunction with facebook, or twitter, but great just on it’s own, Gowalla encourages you to “Check in” places that you visit. When you do this, it lets your friends who also have the Gowalla App know. A message gets sent to their phone (like a text message – but not counting as one, for those of you who don’t have unlimited texting, like me!). I think this has some pretty cool possibilities!

Tell your friends where you are...

...have an inpromptu lunch!

If you were at the Library the Playground, or out for a bite, you could check in at that location (create the location if it’s not already listed). You can even add a description of what you are doing. Your message would go out to your friends, and if they were near by, they could stop in. It’s fun – and free, and might get you some unexpected playdates. Gowalla works on the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. FYI, if you have heard of foursquare – this is pretty similar, but I think it has a few features that make it better.Related Posts:

Story Time is Back On at Clinton Hill Library!

betsy — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:00:21 +0000

Cameron and I visited the Clinton Hill Library last Tuesday in the hopes of catching Story Time – but the program was on break. We still had a great time though! Anyways, the Babies for Books Story Time is starting up again today, March 2nd. There are two times : 10:45, and 11:30. Maybe we will see you there!

The Clinton Hill branch is located at 380 Washington Ave. at Lafayette Ave, right around the corner from Underwood Park.Related Posts:

Hair Cut For Baby – On the Cheap (Free)

betsy — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:14:00 +0000

Cameron has always had quite a head of hair, and it grows like a weed. I think we’ve cut it at least 6 times since his birth in November 08. And, as much as getting a nice professional hair cut sounds appealing, frankly, I don’t see the point in spending the money.

Cam gets his hair cut

This past weekend my hubby and I gave Cam his most recent hair cut, and we developed a new strategy to contain the hair – and wash him off quickly afterward. We cut his hair in the bath – pre bath time – then cleaned up as much as we could and put it in the trash, washed the tub out with the shower attachment, and then ran the bath so we could wash Cameron off.
It worked out pretty well – and the cut wasn’t half bad either. I think the more times we do the cut, the better we get at it. So don’t be afraid to try it at home and save yourself a few bucks! After all, it grows back!Related Posts: