Infants vs Toddlers

I love having kids. I swear it's what god put me on earth to do. When I was little I always use to fantasize about being married and having two kids. I really wanted a boy first and then a girl. I was lucky enough to get my wish and then we were blessed with our third. I call him my "pleasant surprise." While I knew it would be a challenge to have kids, I don't think I ever realized how hard it actually is. I think the older they get, the harder they get. That's my opinion though. I happen to be one of those rare people who absolutely adore the newborn phase. I just love snuggling with a newborn, smelling them, when they smell good of course and everything else about it. Even though I was completely sleep deprived in those first few months, it was totally worth it to me. It's amazing what a new mother can accomplish in just a few hours of sleep a night! I might have been running on caffeine, but it didn't matter to me. I had a job to do, and I was determined to be the best mother I could be.

While I love the newborn phase, I also love the baby phase too. You know the stage where they are stationary, happy and sleeping through the night? I would say around six months old was one of the easiest stages in our house. It's when they started crawling and pulling themselves up and moving, when everything changed. The gates wend up, the outlet covers went in and the cabinet locks got installed! My husband actually enjoyed doing things like this because he felt "involved." Not to mention it was just another reason to use his cordless drill!

I love the newborn phase and the baby phase but the toddler phase is a bit more challenging! As much as I try to limit the word "NO" to my 19 month old, he still has his share of fits. His new thing when he gets mad is he sits down on the floor and then lays down and won't get up. Sometimes he will bump his head on purpose just to get my full attention. I use to pick him up and now I just walk past him and ignore. I feel like the more I feed into the tantrums, the more he will have. He also does this thing where he walks backwards when he gets mad too. It's actually pretty funny! Oh and his latest is feeding the dog all of his food then he cries because he doesn't have any food left. While I feel this age is a lot harder than the baby stage, I still love it. To me, he's still a baby and I am going to try to keep him a baby for as long as I can...since he is my last!

What's your favorite age? What funny things does your baby or toddler do?

Don't forget to Subscribe to this Blog! Also follow FreeGifts4Kids.com on Facebook and Twitter!

Jessica

by Jessica GPosted in Welcome

10 fun things to do with pumpkins!

1. Plant the seeds and watch them grow! Or do it the old-fashioned way like I do and let the old ones replant themselves for next Halloween!
2. If you can’t plant your own, go pick them! My kids love picking pumpkins. They get so excited going to the local farm every year. We make it a game too. We say “Let’s see who can pick the prettiest or the biggest pumpkin!”
3. Decorate the house with pumpkins. Add haystacks and gourds and maybe a scarecrow too!
4. Carve your pumpkins. My kids love doing this. They get such a kick out of lighting the pumpkin and shutting off the lights.
5. If you don’t want to carve your pumpkins just yet, paint them! We paint silly faces on some of our pumpkins.
6. Bake pumpkin seeds! After you carve your pumpkin, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place on a baking sheet and spread them apart separating fibers. Rinse and dry with a paper towel. Coat 1 ½ cups of seeds with tsp of olive oil. Cover with salt if desired and bake for 30 minutes.
7. Make pumpkin pie! My daughter loves to help me cook. This year we’ve decided we’re going to bake a home-made pumpkin pie. See recipe below.
8. Make pumpkin dip! Also see recipe below!
9. Use your hollowed out pumpkins as a candy server for Halloween. Kids will think it’s super cute too.
10. Smash your pumpkins! That’s right. Take a shovel and smash them where you want to replant for next year. You know the old-fashioned way of growing pumpkins! ;)

 Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups of pumpkin pulp purée from a sugar pumpkin* or from canned pumpkin purée
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream or 1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs plus the yolk of a third egg
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
• 1 good crust

Pumpkin Dip Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and orange juice until smooth and well blended. Chill until serving.

Serve with graham crackers or pumpkin bread.

If you need anymore pumpkin ideas, you could always try using a pumpkin as a prop like the picture above!

SIGN UP for this blog on the left hand side of this page!!

Don't forget to follow FreeGifts4Kids on Facebook and Twitter too!

Jessica

by Jessica GPosted in Welcome