If you give a baby a book....

.... chances are he will grow up to LOVE reading!

At least that's what worked for us chillin'. My mom and dad read to us so much as little kids that I don't remember the transition from them reading to us to me reading on my own. It just seems that I've always read. :-) That is a very valuable thing that I hope to pass on to my own kids. As we have no "t.v." at home, reading will be a good pass time for active little minds. I always remember being disappointed with movies that have been made on books that I read because it was NEVER how I imagined it in my head. I have a pretty GRAND imagination that can't always be captured on film- ha ha! So anyway, I'd read these "If you" books before our son was born. I just loved their simplicity and the awesome illustrations! I really really wanted to get these books for my boy. However once I actually went to B&N to look em up I discovered that each story (and there are several) was perfectly contained in between 2 hard covers with appropriate pictures on the front and a very neatly done title, for the mere price of $10! To me a book with 30 pages averaging about 5 or 6 words on a page doesn't deserve that big of a price tag! So I hied me to the computer to look them up online and sure enough they were basically the same price everywhere. However I did discover that there was another hardcover book that had 4 of the stories all together plus fun extra stuff like a sing along cd and some recipes and fun activities for only $25. Yep, I can do math (sort of) and I quickly figured out it was a steal! So we purchased the book for our budding genius, and this evening he sat quietly in our arms while we read to him about the pig who likes pancakes with her maple syrup, and a sentimental moose who's crazy about sweaters and muffins. :-) It was fun! I think that I'll always love story time just as much as the kydos do!! Some things you should NEVER grow out of!

Save some Moo-lah on baby wipes

You've hard of a 5 alarm fire? Well in our house we reach about the same emergency level with what is known as the "6 wipe diaper!" I usually try to be "frugal" with wipe use, but still be thorough. However there are just some times when you have to keep pulling those wipes out till the job is done. All that wiping can make a dent in your wallet, BUT you can save on wipes using a little creativity! When I was in college I babysat for a family with 4 little munchkins, and was a little taken back when I discovered that they "made" their own diaper wipes. At the time, I had no idea that was even possible! Using some paper towels and a few simple baby ingredients that you'd already have on hand, you can actually create wipes that can cost you less AND be better for your baby's bottom. Our son developed an awful diaper rash soon after we brought him home from the hospital, and it seemed like the ingredients in regular wipes caused him more pain. We got the Viva brand of paper towels (because it's so soft) and just used plain water with them, and it worked great! I found a recipe for making your own if you're up to it. I'm sure most of us already have one of those plastic wipe dispensers around somewhere. Those are great for storing the wipes in, but if you've tossed yours then one of those ziploc storage containers works fab too! The paper towels are so large that you can cut them in half or even fourths to make it stretch even farther. Happy wiping!!
This wipe recipe came from livingonadime.com, but there were several sites that had identical recipes.
1 ½ cups water
2 Tbsp. baby bath or shampoo
1 Tbsp. baby oil
1 roll paper towels

Mix the water, baby bath and baby oil in an empty round baby wipe container. Cut the paper towels in ½ using an electric knife. Remove core from the center. Place paper towels in wipe container. Let the paper towels soak up the water solution. Turn every few minutes to allow the solution to reach the middle of the paper towels. If there is still a dry spot in the middle, add a little more water and turn until soaked through. Pull the wipes from the middle of the roll through the top of the wipe container.

Solutions for the Sweet Tooth

This health smart tip comes from Sarah Amanda, the mommy of a very active, sweets loving baby boy!

Trey has a BIG sweet tooth, so instead of loading him up with processed sugars, I make homemade jello with unflavored Knox geletin packets and 100% fruit juice. Recipe is on the box. He loves it, because of its consistency and flavor, an I don't feel bad giving it to him! :)

I tried this with my son, and he wasn't wild about the texture of jello, but I thought it was really good! It works for Mommies or babies! Especially if you're watching those calories.