When Peanut was still nursing, I bought a nice nursing cover from Target and loved it. It was a bit of a splurge for me, but it made nursing discretely much easier. Fast forward to now, and I am nursing Snowflake, again using the handy cover. However, about a month ago, I somehow lost it and was having a lot of trouble nursing with just a blanket since Snowflake apparently hates being covered up. After several weeks of debating whether or not I was going to shell out money for a new, I decided to make my own!
This project is so easy and I am proud of how resourceful it is! All you need is a good sized receiving blanket (which I somehow had like a bajillion of), some scrap fabric and a piece of boning (if you have any, but not necessary).
Cut 2 strips of fabric 4 inches wide for the straps. You can make these Read the rest of this entry »
About our blogger: sugarloafbaby
Mother to one crazy but delightful daughter, my days are full of diaper surprises, never-ending nursery rhymes and rewarding baby belly laughs. Follow me in my daily discoveries of what this motherhood thing is all about!
Visit sugarloafbaby @ http://motheringblindfolded.blogspot.com/
Posts by sugarloafbaby:
Simple Homemade Nursing Cover
Saving that Grocery Money
Over the past couple of years, I have got quite good at feeding my family on a low grocery budget. However, dealing with rising food costs means that low budget just got even lower. We are working hard to pay off the last chunk of our student loans so we can live like no one else. It’s important to me to try and keep costs down in the kitchen while still providing healthy, hearty and satisfying meals for our growing family.
Angela Coffman, the Grocery Shrink, has been fundamental in helping me do this. I bought her ebook last summer and have since completely changed the way I shop and cook. She teaches a certain method to grocery shopping and planning that enables one to stay within her recommended budget guidelines. For us, that is around $250 a month for our family of 4 (nursing infant, toddler, 2 adults).
Last week, she came out with a brand new feature, Grocery Shrink Plus - a menu planning service that not only plans your dinners, but your breakfasts, lunches and snacks too - all for just $5 a month! Her plans are remarkably thorough and detailed to help make it as easy as possible for you to implement the meals. She gives step by step instructions to help plan the different meal tasks out ahead of time so that you don’t forget. She also focuses on healthy from-scratch meals rather than relying on boxed or processed food items.
This service is so helpful for me, since I have been struggling to do all the planning and prep work that is necessary to keep a low budget. I had been coming close to the guidelines, but still had plenty of room for improvement, so that’s one of the reasons I bought her service. I also needed help in planning more balanced and nutritious meals that include lots of vegetables. So far, I am completely impressed with how much it has helped! Our family loves the meals too - they are simple yet delicious!
Another Campbell Has Arrived! The Birth Story of Baby Snowflake
‘Baby Snowflake’ is our little “drama” queen! She really knows how to play tricks on her mommy! After 2 bouts of false labor, she finally decided to come at the last minute before 2011 was over - our New Year’s Eve baby!
Here is the full story of her birth:
On Saturday, Christmas Eve - the day before my due date - I started having contractions about 7 minutes apart around 1pm. The night before, I had been having contractions on and off, which really hindered my ability to get a good night’s rest. Friday morning, I nested like crazy, cleaning the whole house thinking baby would be here soon. Daddy C was feeling sick, like he might have the flu, which made me even more anxious. Between all the cleaning, I tried to feed us all good, nutrient dense foods and supplements to ward off the sickies. By 1pm, the contractions had returned with regularity. I went on a walk, and they got stronger and closer together. I decided to call the midwives and tell them to come at 4:30pm. Daddy C took Peanut to a relative’s house just in case, and the midwives arrived around 5:30pm, by which time the contractions were now coming 5 minutes apart. They were not really painful though, and since I had back labor with Peanut, I wasn’t sure if this was just what regular labor contractions felt like. Read the rest of this entry »
New Cloth Diapers!
In the past, we have simply used prefolds with covers for cloth diapering. It’s worked out well for us, but we still found we preferred disposables, and we were reluctant to use them. With the cost of diapers quickly escalating, I knew we needed to invest in a few cloth diapers that functioned similar to disposables - but we didn’t have a fortune to spend on them either.
Money-Saving Recipes
There are plenty of recipes for items that are more expensive to make than to buy pre-made. The trick is finding the ones that are cheaper to make at home. Pancake syrup is one of them. Pizza sauce and dough is another. Here are a few money-saving recipes our family enjoys:
Maple Syrup
Combine in saucepan:
- 1 ¾ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup water
Bring to boil, cover, and cook 1 minute. Cool slightly. Add:
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon maple flavoring
Cover saucepan for a few minutes as syrup cooks to melt down crystals
Store in the refrigerator.
I made this today and was surprised how easy and better tasting it was compared to the cheap store-brand syrup. I was able to whip it up while my pancakes were cooking and have it ready in a jiffy! (note: if you don’t normally keep maple flavoring on hand in your pantry, I highly suggest you start. It is a relatively inexpensive ingredient that can add lots of flavor and zing to many recipes like this one.)
Pizza Dough- No Rise, No Yeast
- 2 C Flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2/3 C water
- 1/4 C + 2 TBSP olive Oil
- Optional- Garlic Powder, Italian Seasoning, etc to taste
Pre heat to 425
Canning Apple Butter
Step 2: Fill crock-pot with apples. Top with sugar and spice mixture. Mine is 4 quarts, so you would need more apples and sugar if you have a larger crock. Read the rest of this entry »
Structured Learning Activities with a Young Toddler
Recently, I’ve begun implementing structured learning activities into our day for Peanut. Although she is just over 16 months old, I can already see the benefit these early learning sessions will have! We plan on homeschooling, so getting into a routine of daily learning will also be really helpful when she starts more formal preschool studies.
When I first started researching homeschooling, I thought for sure that I would not have to worry about it until she was at least 3. But the more I learned about early learning, and the more I watched her develop and grow, I decided to start doing structured activities with her, even if just for 15 or 30 minutes a day. The great thing is that she has fun and is learning without even realizing it!
I’ve been able to find quite a few free young toddler curriculum online, and so far we have been following Pam’s House Young Toddler Curriculum. I love how flexible it is and how you can just pick and choose what you want to do. I also love the Christian teachings included. Since Peanut is still fairly young and not really talking, I can just repeat lessons a few times if I need to. This is going to come in handy when I am busy taking care of a newborn at the same time. These lessons are structured so that you can quickly start and stop different activities if needed. I borrow books for the week from the library and am working on getting our “school” supplies stocked so I can more easily do projects that involve things like construction paper, glue sticks, basic craft supplies, or crayons.
If you’re interested in teaching babies and toddlers, here are a few more links I found that were helpful:
Infant and Toddler Lesson Planning Ideas
Toddler Curriculum
Children’s Songs with Lyrics
Sample of Bible Study Concepts for Toddlers
I Can Teach my Child: 1-2 Years
Canning Grape Jelly
This is what happens after you bring the juice and sugar to a boil! I thought it was going to boil over! Thankfully, it did not.
After the jelly was ready, I ladled them into hot, sterilized jars. Read the rest of this entry »
Building a Children’s Library on a Budget
One of the things Peanut simply loves is her books. She will sit down and go through the pages, intensely studying the pictures and interacting with the different elements on the page. We have made it a nightly ritual to begin reading 2 or 3 books to her before she goes to bed, and she loves walking over to her bookshelf and picking out which book to read. She tends to want to read the same books over and over, and although it does get a bit repetitive, it is so wonderful to watch her enjoyment over it that we continue to read them to her.
From the beginning, it has been important to us to have plenty of children’s books on hand to provide opportunity for learning as well as to help cultivate the love of reading in our children. However, collecting a large assortment of children’s books can be quite pricey. Have you ever gone inside a bookstore and looked for a cheap children’s book? Unless you dig hard in the bargain bin, you likely won’t find one for less than $5-8. Baby board books cost even more due to the durable construction.
The following places are wonderful sources of discounted or cheap children’s books that we always take advantage of:
Library Book Sales
This is perhaps the best place to find children’s books for next to nothing! While I was pregnant with Peanut, we went to a local library book sale. We were able to fill a grocery bag full of books for just $4. Although they might have some wear, a lot of them are still in great condition or can be mended with a little elbow grease. Some of Peanut’s favorite books came from this sale, and I love that because we did not pay much for them there is no worry over the terrible abuse they have and will continue to experience in the hands of a busy toddler.
Garage Sales
This is the second best place to find children’s books. During garage sale season, keep your eyes open for board books in particular, as they can be hard to find. Baby and toddler books are not as common either, so just be on the lookout and you will likely find some great deals. Collecting books for when children are older is a great thing to begin as well. Usually, books at garage sales run anywhere from 10 to 50 cents. I have never seen a children’s book priced any higher than that!
Family and Friends
Another great source of children’s books is family and friends. Ask around and there are bound to be plenty of people willing to pass on books no longer read or in use. For birthdays and holidays, consider asking for books instead of toys. This is a wonderful way to get quality new books for your child too.
Library
Although we do enjoy building our own children’s library, nothing beats the real library for fresh, new books when those you own have been read to death. Be warned, however, not to let them become overdue, or you will quickly defeat the purpose of reading for free. We try not to check out more than 3 children’s books at a time so that they are not as likely to become lost and are easier to keep track of. Renewing favorite books online is a great way to get more use out of them as well. Do take care to ensure these books do not get damaged as well, since they do not belong to you and you will be charged if they become severely ripped or abused. I try to only get board books for playtime and then the paper-paged books are kept out of reach until I can read them with my daughter.
Do you have a favorite place to buy children’s books? Share in the comments below!
October Menu Plan
It’s that time of the month again! A new month means a new menu! The theme for this month is hearty soups, stews and roasts to keep us warm while we wait to turn on the heat. Oh, and all are budget friendly of course, with the average dinner providing leftovers for lunch! For breakfast, baked oatmeal, pumpkin and apple muffins will appear and for dessert, we’ll have fresh pumpkin pie and other seasonal treats.
Click here to view our October Dinner Menu.
This is the 3rd month we have begun using monthly menu plans, and I am amazed at how well it is working for us! I would definitely not be able to keep our grocery budget as low as it is without a menu plan. Planning out meals for the entire month allows me to take advantage of sales I otherwise would have overlooked. Although we are still working out the kinks with our lowered grocery budget, I know that the number one way to succeed with it is by using monthly menu plans. I have tried weekly and biweekly menu-planning, but nothing has worked as well as monthly plans have.
This month I will also be working on continuing to freeze meals and foods in preparation for the new baby. I also would like to try my hand at canning some grape jelly since grapes are so cheap right now.
What foods are you looking forward to cooking/baking in October? Share in the comments below!
