DIY - Emergency Kid Kit

As many parents find out sooner or later, it is inevitable that your child will get hurt. And in my case, being prepared makes me feel better and more in control of the situation than not. But to carry around an entire first aid kit isn't as convenient as say in the car - so I made my own with travel size items and things I might need spur of the moment. I send this out as a template as every child, mommy and family relies on different items. Everything, including the travel bag cost me under $10 (actually under $7 since I had coupons!!) and is small and compact - about the size of 2 diapers. I included in my bag:

1. Band-Aids


2. Packets of gauze


3. Waterproof medical tape


4. Neosporin's Neo to go!


5. Vaseline


6. Baby Tylenol


7. Baby Aquaphor wash


8. Shout Wipes


9. Wet Ones antibacterial wipes (pocket size)


10. Travel Size Adult Tylenol (for Mom & Dad)


11. Hyland's Teething Tablets

Life

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away" - Maya Angelou

Recipe of the Week 2/20/09

Peanut Butter and Cranberry Energy Bars

I found this recipe in Sunset Magazine (one of my favorites!) and they are awesome. I switch out the figs and use raisins, and sometimes put in dried blueberries instead of cranberries to mix things up. They are great to keep in my laptop bag, baby bag, gym bag and my husband loves them for a snack or before the gym because they are full of protein. They use a lot of ingredients, but I make them on Sunday night and keep them in an air-tight container to enjoy the entire week.

Ingredients
Cooking-oil spray
1 cup regular rolled oats
1/3 cup oat bran
3 tablespoons flax seeds
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped roasted salted peanuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup finely chopped dried Mission figs
3/4 cup natural chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup low-fat milk
1 large egg
1/2 cup honey
Finely shredded zest from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation
1. Line a 9- by 13-in. pan with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang on the 9-in. sides, and coat with cooking-oil spray. In a large bowl, stir together oats, oat bran, flax seeds, flour, baking powder, salt, peanuts, cranberries, and figs until well blended.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together peanut butter, milk, egg, honey, lemon zest, and lemon juice until well blended.

3. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture and beat until completely blended. Scrape dough into pan and, with wet fingers or a rubber spatula, pat to fill pan completely and evenly (dough is sticky, so you may need to wash your hands a few times). Chill dough until firm, about 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300°. Invert pan onto a work surface, lift off pan, and peel off plastic. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut straight down lengthwise through middle, then crosswise to make 16 bars, each 1 1/2 in. wide. Place bars about 1 in. apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment.

5. Bake bars until lightly browned and somewhat firm to touch, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Make ahead: Store airtight up to 2 weeks or freeze.
Note: Nutritional analysis is per bar.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 227 (40% from fat)
Protein: 7.4g
Fat: 10g (sat 1.5)
Carbohydrate: 29g
Fiber: 4.1g
Sodium: 160mg
Cholesterol: 13mg

Recipe found at http://www.sunsetmagazine.com/

American Eagle Jeans Sale Online

All jeans at American Eagle Outfitters are $30 and under. I love their boyfriend jean so I will be sure to pick up an extra pair :)

www.ae.com

Mommy Steal - "Kitchen Organizers"

About every couple months or so I seem to find my kitchen cabinets and pantry a disaster. So I have scoured the stores to find some organizational help, and found some great items (at great prices) at IKEA. I found this set of 17 storage containers (ie: "tupperware") for $4.99 and it comes with all sorts of sizes, I like the small ones for my daughter's snacks when we are out as ziplock baggies tend to crush things like crackers. The larger ones I use for my pantry items that come in a bag (uggh!! - I hate that) such as brown sugar or flaked coconut or trail mix. The containers with a flip top I love for Goldfish crackers.

For store locations goto: www.ikea.com. Happy Organizing!!

Inspiring Focus

As many of us women out there "doing it all", there comes times of discouragement, fatigue, frustration and the inevitable emotional breakdown. I try to live each day as positive and healthy as I can, but I too every so often find myself in a "rut", and feel as though the sinking sensation is triumphing over my strength to get back to my routine and focus. I keep these little books in my nightstand that are filled with quotes, sayings and poems that I read and re-read when I feel like I am out of sorts and overly tired. I keep them alongside my bible and together read - and do my very best to keep things in perspective and focus on what really counts in my life. I definitely encourage everyone to do the same, as I am so blessed to have my family, health and motivations to make it through each day and onto the next. Good luck out there, and remember that you cannot control what happens in life but you can control how you react to what happens.

"There is a time to let things happen, and a time to make things happen"

Recipe of the Week 2/13/09

I try to utilize my crock pot as much as possible - so when i saw this recipe in a magazine I had to try it and it's really good. I add a few ingredients to mine, so the listed recipe looks a little different than the original I got from Campbell's Soup. It's a great one for cold, rainy days and makes the whole house smell amazing!

Slow Cooker Savory Pot Roast

Ingredients:
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or 25% Less Sodium)

1 pouch (2 ounces) dry onion soup & recipe mix
6 small red potatoes, cut in half
6 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
3 -to 3 1/2-pound boneless beef bottom round roasts or chuck pot roast

4 stalks of celery cut into 2 in. pieces

4 Tbsp. of chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Stir the soup, onion soup mix, potatoes, celery and carrots in a 4 1/2-quart slow cooker. Add the beef and turn to coat.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours* or until the beef is fork-tender.

Add parsley in the last 20 minutes of cooking
*Or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.

Recipe collected from Campbell's Kitchen, for original recipe click here.