Grobag Sleeping Bags – The 7 top reasons you love them!

. Grobag baby sleeping bags are great because:

1) Keeps baby at the right temperature all night long.

2) Baby stays safe in the Grobag, no slipping under the sheets and blankets.

3) Baby can find its pacifier or play and go back to sleep with no danger of squirming out  of the covers, the Grobag baby sleeping bag always stays in place.

4)  Pick the tog of your choice for a vacation spot, whether it be hot temperatures or a cold ski holiday there is a grobag baby sleeping bag with a tog to match the weather.

5)  The Grobag baby sleeping bag makes it very difficult for your toddler to climb out of bed or crib.

6) Prevents little feet from getting stuck between the slats.

7) There is a stylish grobag for every fashionista baby!

And just in case you have no idea what a Grobag baby sleeping bag is:

A grobag® baby sleeping bag is a wearable blanket that will keep your baby at a comfortable temperature all night long. A safe and sound night’s sleep for your baby means peace of mind and more sleep for you!

Until quite recently baby sleeping bags were a little known form of bedding in the UK. Convinced of the inherent safety benefits and the related improvement in sleep for both child and parent, in 2000, Rob and Ouvrielle Holmes, working in close partnership with the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death (FSID), introduced grobag® baby sleeping bags to the UK.

As a result of grobag’s continued work with FSID and dedication to safety, grobag® are now the only baby sleeping bags to be recommended by FSID, our official partner in promoting safer sleeping for babies.

Feng Shui in the Nursery

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art and science which reveals to us how to balance the energies of a space to assure health and good fortune to those inhabiting it. Feng meaning wind, Shui meaning water, 2 basic elements which come together creating yin and yang with the flow of chi. Admit it, we can use all the help we can get!

Feng shui your way to a positive environment for you and your baby. Using feng shui helps make baby less fussy, more comfortable, healthy and happy. Let’s face it, a happy baby makes a happy mommy, a happy mommy makes a happy daddy. The wonders of feng shui!

Tips for feng shui – ing your way to positive flowing energy. Don’t put the bed against a window rather line it up so that the breeze from the open window creates a flow of soft wind which will stimulate a mobile or gentle caress baby creating soft energy and positive movement. The crib should not be put directly in line with the door as positive energy will flow out rather than in. Have a solid wall behind the crib and the bottom of the crib should be at least 20 cm above the ground with a clear space underneath. No mirror or highly reflective surfaces should be facing the crib.

When painting the nursery keep in mind these colors:

Blue – water, ease, freshness and abundance

Pink – Fire and passion, the universal color of love it is the perfect color to soothe the energy, pink soothes the heart and fills it with love.

Strong Yellow – Fire, associated with the rising sun always uplifting and cheery, as well as creating a coze space, an excellent choice for a nursery

Use the Baby Spaces templates to assist you in positioning the nursery furniture. The templates take the back breaking work out of moving around heavy cribs, change tables and dressers.

Need a little extra feng shui in the nursery? Consider the feng shui line of plush toys from Kaloo.

Menorah for Chanukah

No Menorah for Chanukah? No worries!  Here is a simple ( and beautiful) idea.

Take 8 wine glasses, sherry glasses or whatever you have available.  Don’t worry, they don’t have to match.  Fill each glass with sand, color or clear glass beads about 3/4 of the way.

Insert a beautiful candle in the center of the beads and arrange on a table or tray.  Voila!  An inexpensive and beautiful Menorah for Chanukah……Kid friendly and fun to make!

Travelling with tots……..

 

It was a brisk, clear winter morning. As we load the car with suitcases, food, toys and 3 pint size tots paranoia sets in. Have we forgotten anything? Quickly, excitement grows and the unnecessary fear is gone. If we did overlook something we can always buy it when we get there. This is going to be great! Our first “roadtrip” with the kids. We get in the car and hop on the highway on route to our family 5 hours away.

 

I turn around from the passenger seat and see our oldest child, our daughter, sitting in the middle surrounded by the boys on either side of her. I quickly realize that this was our first mistake. As the boys hit and tease each other, our daughter is instantly caught in the crossfire. Twenty minutes have passed, I’ve managed to calm them down. Unfortunately a new problem has emerged “Are we there yet?”

 

”I’m hungry!” A loud, penetrating shriek pierces my ear. But this is no problem, I’m prepared. I have packed travel sized sandwiches, potato chips, juice boxes and just in case someone would like to actually eat healthy, fruit and nuts. What seemed like a sound plan is quickly revealed as a mistake. The potato chips leave crumbs all over and the juice boxes have turned into the current weapon of choice. After all, pointing them in the right direction and squirting can assault your opponent with amazing ease!

That was many years ago. Today there are so many products available that help make travel easier, quieter, and more enjoyable.

 

-A safe travel mug such as the Avent 12oz Super Sport Cup for Toddlers. The easy-sip, non-spill Magic™ Super Sport Cup is just right for active toddlers on the go

-Ever heard the saying, “Music soothes the savage beast?” Okay, so a child is definitely not a beast, that is, at least not until you start travelling. Name your tune has personalized music that your child can sing along to. Take a cd player (or Mp3?), put those earphones on (not too loud) and your child will happily hum along. Name Your Tune Digital is available online at www.petiteposh.com
If old enough, give your child a road map and a marker to track the progress of your trip. An inexpensive way to keep them amused but make sure they are the non toxic Crayola Pipsqueaks

 

Remember, if you daughter can play at home with her Groovy Girl for hours and you son can stay entertained with his Fisher-Price Kid Tough DVD Player, it’s a good bet that these toys will keep them busy for hours on the road.

Small Made Simple, makers of the innovative Kangaroo towel got rave reviews by Parents Magazine!

Hanukah Sufganiyot – Jelly Donuts

Because they are fried in oil, these jelly doughnuts are a traditional dessert for Hanukkah.

Ingredients

Makes about 20

• 3/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
• 1 envelope active dry yeast (1 scant tablespoon)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup for coating
• Pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons margarine or unsalted butter, room temperature
• Peanut oil, for frying, plus more for bowl
• 1/4 cup raspberry or strawberry jam or jelly

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the warm water and yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt; mix until well combined. Add egg yolks and remaining 1 3/4 cups flour. Mix until combined, then knead dough in bowl until all flour is incorporated. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead a few minutes until smooth. Knead in margarine until incorporated.
2. Transfer dough to a well-oiled bowl, turning several times to coat entirely with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
3. Bring dough to room temperature, about 30 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough into an 11-inch square, about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out about 24 (2-inch) rounds. Reroll scraps; cut out about 16 more rounds.
4. Line a baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg whites. Brush edge of a dough round with egg white, then mound 1/2 teaspoon jam in center. Top with another round; press edges to seal. Repeat with remaining rounds. Transfer to prepared baking sheet; let rise until puffy, 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Heat 3 inches of oil in a large, heavy pot until it reaches 360 on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches of 4 or 5, slip doughnuts into hot oil. Fry, turning once, until golden brown, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain.
6. While doughnuts are still hot, dip them in remaining 1/2 cup sugar, turning to coat. Serve immediately.

I took this recipe from Martha Stewart and it really is easy and luscious!

Chanukah Recipes – Child Friendly

Chanukah o chanukah!

Chanukah is a time of tradition, family, friends, lighting of the menorah and miracles! Starting a tradition with children for the holiday is the best Chanukah gift you can give to yourself!

Here is a very easy recipe ( but watch out, as soon as it cools it disappears!). The children can help to break up the matza candy once it is cooled, that is really the fun part!

Matzoh Candy
Ingredients:
• 5 unsalted matzohs
• 1 c. margarine
• 1 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
• 6 oz chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Lightly grease a jelly roll pan.
3. Line the bottom of the pan with matzohs, cutting it as needed.
4. Combine butter and sugar in a saucepan.
5. Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Pour over matzoh and bake for 15 minutes or until it starts to brown.
7. Remove and sprinkle with chips.
8. Let it stand 5 minutes and spread the chips over the surface.
9. Cool thoroughly-break into pieces-can be refrigerated

Baking with Children – A child friendly tradition

When baking with children just a few things to remember:

1)Choose your recipes carefully, nothing that takes too long or is too involved

2)Plan ahead, make sure you have all the ingredients out and lined up for easy access

3)Allow plenty of time, from experience, cookies that would normally take me 20 minutes from start to oven would take 60 minutes at the very least

4)Expect a MESS! Honestly that’s half the fun!

Snowball Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted
3/4 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.

Soften butter in large bowl. Add sugar, cream until light. Stir in vanilla. Mix in flour and stir in nuts.

Shape into balls. (kids love this part)

Place on greased cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Roll in additional icing sugar straight out of oven. Roll again when cool.

Holiday Baking with Children

Baking with children at holiday time can be not only fun but also become a well loved tradition.  When my children were small, I would gather them around the kitchen table and they would help cut cookies and decorate cupcakes.  It really didn’t matter how the baked goods looked at the end, the quality time we spent together was priceless.

Here is an easy way to decorate cupcakes with children for the Christmas holiday.

Bake your easy cupcake recipe then when the cupcakes are cool you can decorate them easily:

Holly Cupcake How-To
Chewy candies come in lots of shapes, and they’re just the right size for decorating cupcakes. Here, a trio of sour-cherry candies and a pair of sugar-frosted spearmint leaves (sliced to make them thinner) look like a sprig of holly in a drift of snow.

( take from Martha Stewart)

Hushamok – Baby Hammock on sale for the holidays!

The Hushamok baby hammock is owned by Angela and Brad (2 for the twins) , Gwen Stefani, Tori Spelling and others!

Just in time for the holiday petiteposh is giving you a gift of 15% off the Hushamok

Use coupon code hush at check out to receive 15% off this fabulous baby hammock and don’t forget, shipping is free!