Monthly Baseball Onesies

My infatuation with onesies began shortly after buying a large package of iron-on transfers, while pregnant of course. Not only are there several adorable saying out there, but the idea of creating a monthly iron-on so that you can take pictures in them as baby grows is an exciting way to personalize monthly photos. I have been loving the iron-ons and I will post more of the shirts I have created as I go along.

First I thought I would include the onesies that started it all, Drew's monthly onesies. My husband loves baseball (I'm told I like baseball onesie on the way), and so I decided that would be the perfect theme for these onesies. These are baseball themed, and we have been taking pictures in the same chair every month, and it has been fun to take pictures to track his growth. I'm so glad I started with this right away :)

I have taken to loading these pictures onto my iphone and the using one of the instagram apps to create the image you see on the right. There is nothing more life altering and rewarding then being a mother, and I have been trying to capture as much as I can. These would also make a fabulous gift. I have included the PFD and the docx files of the monthly iron-ons. Directions to follow. Enjoy!

1-6 Month docx

1-6 Month PDF

7-12 Month docx

7-12 Month PDF

Directions to use these FREE PRINTABLES:

1. Download the PDFs of the onesies

2. Get iron-on transfer paper and place correctly in printer according to paper directions.

3. Press print, select paper type, select iron-on transfer, select mirror image

DO NOT FORGET TO PRINT THE MIRROR IMAGE

4. Print

5. Cut out month

6. Select blank onesie of the correct size

7. Let iron heat up and iron on according to directions with paper 

Best of luck! 

Garlic Herb Buttered Spaghetti Squash

I love Spaghetti Squash, and it is the season. My absolute favourite thing to do with spaghetti squash is either make the following recipe or add our families secret tomato sauce (maybe I'll post at a later date).

So I've called this post Garlic Herb Buttered Spaghetti Squash, but the garlic herb butter is just the beginning. I highly recommend the addition of fresh garden tomatoes diced and fresh grated Parmesan cheese. This recipe will convert all of the non spaghetti squash believers into fans. Just be warned that this recipe is not near as effective if you use margarine since the butter adds so much flavour. Sorry for the poor pictures.... I'll try to get better ones next time I make this.

Garlic Herb Butter

Ingredients

3 Tbsp Butter
1 Clove of Garlic diced (preferably mashed with fork and 1/4 tsp of salt)
3 Tbsp diced of any combination the following fresh herbs (whatever you have on hand)
Basil, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, or Sage (or 1 Tbsp of a dried Italian mix)

Directions

Dice garlic and herbs. It is optional to melt the butter in a frying pan, and add the garlic allowing it to brown (this will definitely kick up the flavour). Remove from heat and add herbs. Let sit for at least 5 minutes to let the flavours meld. Before using in following recipe or on sour dough bread, diced (not all the way through), then covered with mozzarella cheese. Place in oven until cheese melts. (I just had to include that little suggestion because of how delicious it is!)

 

Garlic Herb Buttered Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients

1 medium (3 lb) Spaghetti Squash
Garlic Herb Butter (recipe from above)
1/4 cup of fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
 2 Diced Tomatoes (preferably Roma- because they are less juicy)

Directions 

Cook Spaghetti Squash. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place facedown on either baking sheets for 45 minutes in oven at 350 degrees Celsius, or on a large plate to be placed in mircrowave for approximately 10 minutes. Should be easily punctured with a fork when completely cooked.

Make Garlic Herb Butter according to above directions. Grate Parmesan Cheese. Dice Tomatoes. 

Once Spaghetti Squash is cooked use a fork to separate the strands into a strainer inside of a bowl by running the fork down the squash lengthwise while holding onto the squash with an oven mitt. Use a spoon to get the last of the squash out of the shell. Let the squash drain for a few minutes before transferring to a bowl.

Mix together squash with all other ingredients and serve immediately.

Approximately 6 servings.

Enjoy!

Custard Style (Cinnamon Raisin) French Toast

I love french toast!!! I really do, and I've really be starting to tweak and change recipes up over the last year or two and I have come up with my absolute favourite french toast recipe. I have a slight obsession with breakfast/brunch foods, so you may start you notice a pattern with my recipes. I also really like to incorporate Greek Yogurt and other healthy ingredients. You can make this with cinnamon raisin bread or any other type of bread, it's just important that it isn't fresh.

Recipe

3 Eggs
1/2 cup Skim Milk
1/2 cup 0% Greek Yogurt (of using plain yogurt 3/4 cup yogurt to 1/4 cup milk)
1/4 cup Brown Sugar (can substitute honey)
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
~8 slices of Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Cooking Spray

Directions

Heat griddle to medium high heat. Mix first six ingredients with a wire whisk.  Spray griddle with cooking spray, and put bread into mix to soak. Let sit for around 30 seconds on each side, puncturing with a fork so that mixture is absorbed into the bread. Pick up with the aid of a fork and fingers (or it will likely fall apart), let drip for a few seconds before transferring to preheated griddle. Repeat until griddle is full. Let cook a minimum of 5 minutes per side. They should be golden brown. If making more then a griddle full keep warm in lukewarm oven.

Serve with maple syrup or Banana-Pecan topping, which I will be posting at a later date! If you want to serve with another topping you may want to skip on the Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

Preparing for Baby!

I am excitedly awaiting the birth of our first child. Meanwhile what have I been doing to occupy my time? Research! That's right it's not just for school it has real-life applications FOREVER! It is imperative that you know how to do it correctly, because when it comes to something important in your life you don't want to be making rookie mistakes.

What exactly have I been researching you may ask? Well it all started off with pregnancy. What can you expect, what steps do you want to take to ensure the best possible health of you and your baby. I did a huge amount of research in this area both online, and through library books (that I found online to be the highest recommended), and some purchased books. When I was researching online I didn't just follow any old chat room advice, I looked for sites that were backed by medical facilities/governments, because sometimes people are just trying to sell you something, and I want what's best, not what you are selling. Often I enjoyed blogs, but usually I tried to find the information in more then one place. (http://weelicious.com/, http://binspiredmama.blogspot.ca, http://theehingers.blogspot.ca, http://www.mamajennblogs.com/) Blogs can be incredibly useful because the offer a real life perspective and often have comments from other people who have tried the suggestions. I follow blogs for cooking, baking, photographing, teaching, parenting tips, baby tips, DIY (do it yourself), money saving tips, and some that are just about themselves, and I find all of them very interesting a useful!
Which brings me to my next important point, back up your facts! You may find something that seems to be supported by a reputable website, but is that the only place you can find that information? For me to trust information I have to find it in several places (back it up!).
Books I loved: Brain Rules for Baby: John Medina, and What to Expect When You're Expecting

(0-5) Brain Rules for Baby offers parents facts in an engaging, practical way. Pregnancy apply the Goldilocks principal to weight, nutrition, stress and exercise. He emphasized the importance of EMPATHY in your interactions. Important for safe environment and to develop emotional intelligence. Smart Baby: praise effort, breast-feed, talk a lot Moral rules: Clarity, Accepting (environment), Praise (when followed) Very easy and entertaining to read!

Most interesting video: http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/programmed-to-be-fat.html
Can being exposed to obesogens really program people, especially in utero, to be fat? Must research more, and I did. It is a relatively new area of research where they are realizing chemicals like BPA, can act like hormones in to body changing how we store weight. I found a lot of ways to avoid obesogens, and this lead me directly into my next area of research.
Getting ready for the baby. What do I need? What has the best reviews? What is the safest? What is the healthiest? What can be made at home? What is the best price? What is the cutest (it has to be fun too)? What do we bring to the hospital? What can I expect when breastfeeding? What is the safest and easiest way to give birth?
Current area of practice and research includes Hypnobirthing. A way of using the power of your mind and absolving fears around birth to have a relaxed, quiet and natural birth. If it works, wow how awesome is that! I'll let you know how it goes.

As you can see there is pretty much a endless stream of questions that just lead to more questions. Where does it get me? I feel more prepared and like I am doing the best that I can for my baby. Knowledge is power, and I want to have as much background knowledge as possible heading into this wonderful journey of parenthood. Wish me luck!