Discovery bottles

I am always on the hunt for something new and interesting for my Little Peanut to play/learn with. I found this idea for discovery bottles online, so I cannot take any credit for coming up with the idea.

So far I have one with rice and food coloring, one with baby oil and water with food coloring, soap and water with food coloring, and water and sequins.  I just super glue the lids on, and then wrap with electrical tape. So far, my a Little Peanut has been interested in shaking the rice bottle, and the sequin bottle seems to catch her attention. I am going to make a few more in smaller bottles that may be a better fit for her hands. I'll keep you posted when I come up with some more ideas. 

Infused Thanksgiving Vodka

I have had a rough experience with infused vodka before. My mom let pineapple soak for ages, and then we are the pineapple..... I'm mainly a beer person, so it was a tad much. And by a tad much I mean that I ate it an passed out on my parent's sofa shortly thereafter. Not a good scene. This time around, we are going to infuse for a shorter period.

Our plan is to mix with tonic as a post dinner treat once our Little Peanut is asleep. Our recipe is as follows:

2 cups pomegranate seeds

2 cups cranberries, halved

The skin of one orange

One vanilla bean, split down the length

750 ml of vodka

Mix it all together and wait 2 weeks. I'll keep you posted on the results!

Brie en Croute

Ok,so since out Little Peanut was born the hubs and I have tried to do a date night at home on Saturdays. This week we made Brie en Croute, which was shockingly simple but delicious and looks fancy (it would be great for a party.) our first step: thaw out a sheet of puff pastry (I just bought a box of Pepperidge Farm brand at the store) and lay out our toppings. I try to roughly shape them to the same size as the top of the Brie. I used 2 Tbs of raspberry jam, dried cherries, and walnuts.

I place the Brie on top:

And then fold the puff pastry over the whole thing:

The last step is mixing 1 Tbs water and an egg and mix together well.  Please the ends (the non-smooth side of the pastry) down and brush the whole thing with the water egg mixture. Bake that bad boy on 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. When it's done it will be a sweet savory melty bundle of goodness. Place on a cracker, slice of apple or pear, or just eat a chunk out of your hand. So good!!

Our travel high chair

Sorry that I fell off the planet fora while, our Little Peanut is teething so sleep is not happening I our house. Anyway, every time we go out, someone stops us to ask about our travel high chair. It's the Inglesina Fast Table Chair - Liquirizia (Black) from Diapers.com, and we bought it for $50. This past weekend, the Hubs, Little Peanut and I went out to lunch (a rare and special occasion in our house) and we were stopped by the parents of a 4 month old who was in her car seat and a grandmother to an older baby asking about our chair.  It hooks onto the table, and we use it on the edge of our island at home so when we go out it's familiar for our Little Peanut.  

It folds flat into a pouch that is hidden under the seat, and the back is higher for early sitters who need more support.  Best of all, you are putting your little one in a high chair that may have the spills and germs for the previous kids ( I'm a pretty hardcore germaphobe so this is a big deal for me). Awesome chair all around, I just wish I had given out my Diapers.com account info for the referral reward!  

Traveling baby, Part 3

So,we made another last minute trip home with our Little Peanut.  It wasn't really planned but the hubs had a work trip that would land him close to my parent's house so we figured we'd make a go of it.  This time our packing list was greatly reduced as my parents have a full nursery set up, so it makes our lives way easier. Little Peanut did much better in the cart his time now that she has a new car seat (more on that in another post). She did really well, and had a blast being spoiled by Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop. In addition, my parents have a French bulldog named Oscar who I am not really a fan of.   Our Little Peanut, however,seems to love hi and he loves her. The two of them just study each other and stare into each other's faces. Oscar is constantly trying to lick our Little Peanut which drives me crazy as I am a super germaphobe. Little Peanut certainly didn't get the message as she reaches outfor Oscar to lick her hands constantly. The majority of the trip was me wiping my child's hands before she put them back in her mouth.......  Lovely. Baby travel..... Mastered!

Ribs

My ribs....

I don't make ribs that often, but when I do I always wonder why not.  These were sooooo good!

Removing the silver skin (gross)

Adding the dry rub.  Grill over indirect heat for 4 hours at 250 degrees. I brush with BBQ sauce for the last 10 minutes.  So good, and super easy!

Traveling with a baby- Part 2

We made it!!!  We made it back to visit family 7 hours away and survived, all while our Little Peanut was teething (her 2 bottom teeth FINALLY broke through yesterday). My parents were of course over the top with a full nursery, and other than a small meltdown at the hotel, we did great. We did so well in fact, that we drove straight through from Grandma and Grandpa's house instead of splitting the drive and staying in a hotel.  It was so great to see family, but it really made me appreciate our little family of 3. I was never in love with Buffalo, and Philadelphia  will ALWAYS be my home, but it was great to get back here when the trip was over!!