My blog is carbon neutral!

I found out about this wonderful iniative at Crafty girls workshop and I thought it'd be great to share it with you since we all just celebrated the Earth's day. If you grab their button, write a post about the initiative and send an e-mail with a link to your post to CO2-neutral@kaufda.de, they'll plant a tree in Germany and name it after your blog. To read more about it, visit the web site: http://www.kaufda.de/umwelt/carbon-neutral/how-you-can-join/ and don't forget to grab a button! Let's make the Earth a little greener.

Thanks in advance to everyone who decides to participate.

Did you know about the ultimate blog party?

I just read about it at Lucille in the sky and I joined right away! This is a great way to meet other moms and find their awesome blogs! In order to join the party go to: 5 minutes for mom and make sure you pick the prizes you want to win! The ones I picked are:

US39 - $250 gift card 2 night stay for a family of 4 at Hilton gardens
US11 - $100 Restaurant gift card
US112 - $50 Amazon gift card
US40 - 3 day 2 night stay at Holiday Inn at Kissemee, FL
US61 - $25 e-gift card at Toys are us!
US32 - $25 Target gift card
US37 - $20 Visa gift card
US114 - $25 Walmart gift card

Good luck!

How to be a super mom?

If you’re a busy, busy, busy mom, who never has any time for anything and especially for yourself, if you take care of one or two or may be even 3 children all by yourself all day long with little or no help, if you do most of the grocery shopping and housework by yourself and you still find the time and the energy to read this, the chances are you're a super mom and you don’t even know it! Surprised by this revelation? Still a little unsure? Here is your guide on becoming a confident, empowered, independent SUPER MOM.


First and most important : always take care of yourself. SLEEP is one of the most basic human needs. If you barely get any sleep, then don’t expect wonders. It’d be hard for you to get organized and focus on your daily tasks. And taking care of your child(ren) could become quite challenging. My best advise is: always sleep when the baby sleeps, don’t worry about any house work and don’t feel any guilt about not doing it. And if that’s not enough, then ask for help. If you could afford it, hire a babysitter, who would stroll/take out your child(ren) for 2 hours every afternoon. It would make a tremendous difference. If you can’t afford a babysitter may be a family member could help? Don’t be ashamed to admit in front of your family that you need help. Asking for help is part of being a super mom. Super mom is not the overly tired and frustrated mom, who constantly struggles to do everything by herself. A supper mom is a confident, well-rested and happy mom, who takes care of 2 people: the baby and herself! And that’s not easy!

So if you find enough time to sleep, make sure that you eat as well and don’t worry about some 40-50 pounds you gained during your pregnancy. Most women gain it anyway. Once your child grows up and becomes more independent you’ll have all the time in the world to diet and exercise. Right now try to find some guilt free happiness in a chocolate bar or a crispy doughnut. Parenting is stressful! You certainly deserve a little reward!


Second and very, very important : Now that you have found enough time to sleep and eat, try to find some extra time to go get your nails done. Spoil yourself every once in awhile and don’t forget that a super mom always does something little for herself. She looks good and others often look at her and wonder how does she find the time to do that and that be a full time mommy? If you don’t have the means, find the time to do your nails at home.


Third and no less important than the second: Be a full time mommy and a full time wife. Yes, your husband needs some love and attention too. You might be exhausted when the kids finally go to bed, but try to find the time to talk to him and spend some time with him. Try to plan ahead and leave the kids with a babysitter or a family member and go out for a dinner or romantic walk in the near by park or ideally on the beach if you have any around you. If you’re not comfortable with leaving your kids with anyone go to a drive thru theater. After you drive for a while the little ones will fall asleep in the back and you and your husband will actually enjoy a movie without anyone screaming and crying in the back!


Fourth: Make a schedule and stick to it. First, think how much time do you need to play with your children and how much time do you need to clean up the house so it looks half way decent (don‘t even try to make it perfect, because you‘ll only stress yourself out). I usually do the housework while my kids sleep and sit on the computer while they watch cartoons. I play with them a lot when we are all outside, so they can get all the attention they need and when we’re at home they don’t need to be around me so much and I can do things around the house and even enjoy some “ME” time. Once I figured out how much time I need for every activity I made a schedule:


MORNING :

8-9 am wake up time -- kids watch cartoons, I drink coffee and check e-mails, read the news and play Farmville ;)

9-10 am breakfast, dress up, jump in the shower, load everybody in the car

10 am -1 pm we’re at the park, at the beach or at the mall, the toddler plays, the baby naps



AFTERNOON :

1.00 pm everybody has lunch

1.30 pm the toddler goes to sleep, the baby plays by herself, I do housework.

3.30 pm the toddler is up! SNACK TIME, cartoons time, some more time for me.

4.00-7.00 pm we all go out again, baby falls asleep in the car, naps for 1 hour, me and the toddler play



EVENING :

7.00 pm daddy is home! Daddy plays with the kids, mommy makes dinner. We all eat, then play.

8.30 pm bath time!

9.00-10.00 pm mommy and daddy try to put the kids to sleep, the kids fight back, mommy and daddy win eventually.



Fifth: Surround yourself with nice, wonderful people, who always support you, who are ready to help with the kids if needed and who help you feel good about yourself and everything you do. Make sure that your husband and family members understand how hard your job is and appreciate everything you do. It’s important for you to demand respect and appreciation. If you feel like someone is underestimating your hard work, let them try to do it while you enjoy a nice book at the park in peace! If you’re offended by anyone’s remarks, talk about it and let them know how you feel. Parenting is stressful enough, don’t let anyone else add an additional stress in your life.


Sixth: Don’t forget to have fun! Yes, parenting could be stressful, but it could also be funny. Splash yourself and your kids with water on a hot summer day, enjoy a bike ride at the near park, chalk paint the sidewalk in front of your house or enjoy a rollercoaster ride at an amazing park. Create wonderful memories and enjoy every precious moment of the magic, called motherhood.



A super mom is a happy, confident and relaxed mom!

Easy, healthy snacks and meals for toddlers!

If you don't have all the time in the world to cook and prepare meals for your always hungry toddler, these simple ideas for easy healthy snacks might come in handy ;) My toddlers (ages 1 and 2) are hungry all the time! And they both love all  these snacks:

Cereal with milk
It's easy to fix and it's the perfect breakfast. If you read the label on the cereal box you'll see it contains a lot of vitamines every child needs to grow healthy. Every morning I make 3 big bolws for me and my 2 toddlers.

Pancakes with fruit
Pancakes are not the most nutritional food on the earth, but my kids love them and they're easy to fix. So after I put a little bit of syrup (not too much, because it contains a lot of sugar) I cut a banana (and sometimes and apple or few strawberries) into small pieces and put them on the top of the pancakes. And it makes a perfect breakfast :)

Scrambled eggs with cheese and ham
I simply stir 3 eggs in the pan and after they're ready I add 2 slices of cheese on the top and let it melt. I also add little pieces of ham. Sometimes I put the eggs on the top of toasted bread and add tomatos for a side dish.  Eggs are good for the kids, because they contain protein. Cheese contains calcium and it's good too. Just make sure you cook the eggs long enough.

Yogurt instead of ice cream
There was a time when my son was addicted to ice cream. He wanted to eat it all the time! One day I simply stopped buying it, but he kept asking for it. So I bought some strawberry yogurt and when he asked for ice cream I gave it to him. Surprisingly, he ate it all and he loved it. Now he eats strawberry yogurt every day. And his sister eats it too, because she always tries to copy her big brother ;) I feel a little guilty, because he still thinks he's eating ice cream... but the most important thing is that he loves it and it's healthy! You can serve the yogurt with pieces of fruit on the top and a bagle to make it a little bit more filling.

Macaroni and cheese
Yes, every kid loves them. I know children who eat nothing, but macaroni and cheese. They are easy to fix and contain vitamin A, vitamin C and some protein. You can always add some extra cheese or you can simply serve it as a side dish.

Chicken with vegetables
Although it takes awhile for the chicken to bake it's still pretty easy to fix and it's an excellent source of protein. I usually buy a pack of 4 or even 10 chicken tights and I bake them in the oven for 45 minutes at 400F. I also buy few cans of carrots and peas and just heat them up in a saucepan over low to medium heat with a teaspoon of low fat margarin just to add some extra flavour.

Pizza with vegetables
My children love pizza. I usually buy frozen pizza at the store and in order to make it more nutritional I add thin slices of peppers and chopped parsley and brocoli. And of course some extra mozarella for a finishing touch. My son is not much on vegetables, so I always "hide" them under a thick layer of cheese.

Rice with vegetables
If your children are not big fans of meat, try to offer rice with vegetables. My favourite easy recipe is white rice with carrots and peas and an egg (cooked separately and added later). Sometimes I also add tiny pieces of ham. It's delicious!

Spaghetti
Another easy meal that could be made without meat is spaghetti. Just boil the pasta and heat up the sauce. Spaghetti have plenty of fiber and folic acid. If you children like to eat meat you can always add some ground beef. And don't forget the extra veggies of your choice for the sauce.

The world’s heaviest babies

I’m sure you’ve heard parents bragging about their 8 or 9 lbs. babies. But they probably have no idea that their kids are tiny compared to these giant babies:

In January of 1979 Anna Bates gave birth to a baby boy weighing 23 lb 12 oz (10.8 kg) and 30 in (76 cm.) long in OH, United States. The baby died shortly after the delivery, but he still holds the world’s record as the heaviest newborn. You probably wonder how could he be so big? Here is some insight: his mom was 7 feet 5 and a half inches tall and at birth she weighed approximately 18 pounds. Anna's parents and 12 siblings were at average size.

The world’s heaviest baby, who survived was born in 1955 in Italy. His mother, Carmelina Fedele is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as having given birth to the largest baby by a healthy mother. Her son weighed 22 lb 8 oz (10.2 kg ).

Another large baby was born recently, in September of 2009 in Indonesia. The baby boy weights 19.2-pound (8.7 kg) and is 24.4 inches (62 cm) long. He’s the heaviest newborn ever recorded in the country. The baby’s size was a result of gestational diabetes.

Here is another record: my son is the heaviest baby born in our family! He was 8 lbs. 6 oz (3.900 kg) and 20 in (50 cm) long at birth. At 2 months, he already weighted 16 lbs (7.2kg) - quite small compared to the big babies above, but I still like to brag about it :)

Here is a very interesting article about human reproductive records

Predict your child’s height

Parents often wonder how tall their kids are going to be? One easy and quite certain way to predict a child’s height is to take the average of the parents' height. So how tall are you and how tall is daddy? The child’s height is most likely going to be 2 inches above or below this average. Girls tend to be 2 inches below this average, while boys on the opposite, tend to be 2 inches above this average.

Another way to calculate your child’s height is to double his or her height at age of 2. My son is 2 years old and he’s already 39 inches. Based on this formula, he’ll be 78 inches as an adult.

If you want to calculate your child’s height based on the average of the parents’ height, try this height calculator

Are you concerned that your child may be overweight or underweight? Calculate your child’s BMI (body mass index), using the following BMI calculator

15 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT BABIES

1. A baby is born every 3 seconds.

2. Nearly all babies are born with blue or blue-grey eyes. Babies’ eyes usually reach their final color by 6-12 months of age. However, approximately 10-15% of peoples’ eye colors continues to change into adulthood.

3. Your baby’s hair will start falling out soon after birth. New hair will grow up and it might be a completely different color.

4. Did you know that babies have poor vision? They recognize their mother by her smell and they see best at a distance of only 8 to 14 inches. The most interesting things to look at are a human’s face, light, movements and contrast colors.

5. The heart of a newborn baby beats between 130 and 160 times a minute. A typical healthy heart rate in adults is 60 - 80 beats per minutes.

6. Babies also breathe much faster than adults: 30 to 50 times a minute compared to an adult's 15 to 20 times a minute.

7. Newborns have natural swimming abilities. They can hold their breath under water for few seconds. However, they can easily loose this instinct, therefore a baby should never be left unattended in water.

8. Babies are born without kneecaps. They develop after the first year of age.

9. Some babies are born with a tooth! Other babies’ first tooth appears after their first birthday. On average it comes in around 6 months of age.

10. Babies don’t always need quietness in order to fall asleep. In fact background noise could help your baby to fall asleep easier. Any sound similar to a heart beat is soothing to your baby, because that’s what he or she has been listening to in the womb. Also the vacuum cleaner, the hair drier, the car’s engine and a quiet singing could help your baby fall asleep easier..

11. The sex of your baby is determined by the father's sperm. A man's sperm contains either an X (which makes a girl) or Y chromosome (which makes a boy). The one which fertilizes the egg will determine the sex of the baby.

12. Babies have very small stomachs. A 6 to 8 pounds (2.5 to 3.5 kg) baby needs to eat only 2 to 3 ounces (60 to 90 ml) per feeding. Because such a small amount of milk is digested very fast by the baby’s stomach, babies get hungry every 2-3 hours and eat between 8 and 12 times a day.

13. Since babies eat so often, they poop and pee often too. In fact during the first few weeks of life a healthy newborn pees and/or poops around (almost) every feeding.

14. Parents spend on average $ 7 000 during the first year of their baby’s life.

15. In United States the top month for baby births is August, followed by September and July.