Small Space Nursery

Not sure what it is about my babies and closets, but my daughter and now my son have had their nurseries in my closet. I guess it started because at 5 months pregnant with my daughter, we got the news that the company my husband ran with his father was done, and, because of some bad tax advice, not only did he not have a job, we owed in back taxes. We had no choice but to move in with my parents. It was definitely a hard season of our life, but one that we learned a lot and grew stronger as a couple.

I guess there is just a stubborness (probably if you asked my husband, he wouldn't guess, he would know) inside of me. I determined that in spite of circumstances I WAS NOT going to lay down and allow life's circumstances to rob me of what I thought were necessary things: a nursery and decorating for a baby. Now on my second child, I can tell you it was the hormones talking. These are not necessary, but they sure make a woman feel better. I smile to think that one day my kids may grow up and laugh about being placed in the closet, but I have the proof in pictures that I made the most of it. You can't deny this momma's love or her desire to give her children the very best. I hope I teach them how to LIVE (not just survive) through the trials of life.

The closet was a perfect space for an infant: close enough to mom and dad to hear baby's cries, close enough to be very convenient to answer those cries, just far enough away to not be kept awake by baby's breathing, most come with doors if you need a sense of privacy, and everything you need for changing, swaddling, diapering, etc. is in arm's distance. I am now a closet-nursery advocate!

Adelaide's Nursery

I liked the nursery in my closet so much I decided to do it again. I won't say I LOVE it. I would LOVE a closet all to myself (a girl should be allowed this small piece of selfishness). If I had a third bedroom, my baby would have been put there. But when faced with the choice of placing my baby in his sister's small room on the other side of our place or in our large closet. I chose the closet. So, no, I will not take offense if you opt for a "normal" nursery, BUT, if you are faced with small space issues or trying times, the closet is a great option... an option I LIKE.

The Changing Station with my custom wall art from past project and changing pad cover from a project I have yet to blog.

Jedidiah's Nursery. It's a little less "decorated" than his sister's, but this one has to function as our closet, his closet, changing station and sleeping space. A lot of function for a 4 1/2x11 closet!

 Small Space Nursery Suggestions:

• Think Function. Use the Rods in the closet for your baby's clothes (or your clothes). Use the shelves for storage (though I recommend not placing anything on shelves above where your child sleeps... at least not anything that could potentially fall and hurt your baby).
• Hanging Shelves. Brilliant canvas shelves that hang on closet rod. It's where I keep all my cloth diapering supplies. I got mine at Babies R Us but I have seen them in the closet organization sections of Walmart and Target.
• The Mini-Crib. They are the same size of a portable crib (the length of a twin bed headboard and a little over half that in width). It should last your child until they are 18-24 mos. (and if your child is anything like my daughter you will have to switch to a toddler bed at some point during this time anyways simply because she keeps climbing out of the crib.) Only downside to a mini-crib, there are next to no cute bedding options (I didn't have a hard time finding plain fitted sheets and bumper pads, but there is not much variety in the way of sets). The mini-crib can be really cheap or even come made to last and grow with your child like some full-sized cribs do.
• Lingerie Dresser. Because these bad boys are skinny and tall, they take up very little space and are just the right size for tiny baby clothes. We redid a funky one from the 70's. We replaced the drawer fronts by making new ones out of MDF board, painted it, and put on some new drawer knobs that my mom and I hand-painted to go with the farm theme. (Because these dressers are so tall they need to be strapped to wall when your baby starts to cruise to prevent it from falling over on your child. We just screwed a scrap piece of 2x4 to the wall and then screwed the dresser into that.)
• Dresser with changing table on top. I thank the Lord for this everyday. I made the lack of a dedicated changing table work with my daughter (we just kept a travel changing pad handy near her crib and used that until we had to lower the bed, then we used the floor and changing pad). But if you have the extra bit of space for a dresser that is a large enough to put a permanent changing pad on top and diapers nearby... DO IT!
• Keep wall colors light. You want a nursery not a dungeon or cave. A closet easily can feel like that if you go overboard on the paint colors and wall decor.
• Curtains. Ikea sells a track curtain system that can be placed on the ceiling if the closet isn't an option and you want a dedicated space for baby. We spent 9 months in a 400sq ft studio apartment with our toddler and it's how we made it work. I told Adelaide it was her princess bed... she loved it. (By the way, I found inexpensive fabric that worked great at blocking light, and then dressed it up by buying an extra sheet from her bedding set and adding it to curtains as an accent. I think it cost me $40-$50 with the fabric, the sheet, and the track system)  I think it's important to find a way to dedicate a space for the baby, mostly just so that mom and dad have a space that is their own.

Addy's Princess Space in our tiny studio apartment. I wish this picture showed the track system... but I am sure you can check it out on Ikea's website or at your local Ikea store.

 I think the point behind all of this, is to make the most with what you got. Don't fret, momma, because circumstances and space limitations don't match your ideals for your baby. You want your child to have the very best, but I promise you the "very best" you can give your child is your love. Chances are, if you are looking on the internet for how to make your small space special for your baby, you already have that going on.

Best Wishes to You and Your Family! 

Oh! And I would love to see pictures of your "small space" nursery!

Banana Blueberry Breakfast Muffin

I think it's important to set this muffin apart as a breakfast muffin. While I suppose all muffins are supposed to be for breakfast, as a former employee of Marie Callendar's, I'm sorry but a decadent lemon muffin topped with cream cheese frosting should better be classified as dessert (in fact, I think all their muffins should probably be considered dessert muffins... not that I am putting them down. Dessert muffins are good. Marie Callendar's are REALLY good). Point being, muffins are amazing, but not all muffins are packed with that wholesome nutrition (you know, high in fiber and packed with whole grains and vitamins) to start your day off right.

All muffins are not created equal.

I may have lost your attention at "high fiber" but let me tell you this muffin is tasty enough to eat for dessert (truly) but healthy enough to feel good about (and give to your muffin-loving kids for breakfast without worrying for their teacher's sanity during their Krusteaz Blueberry Muffin sugar high. As a former 5th/6th grade teacher, I feel very free to knock on the boxed muffin mixes... at least on schooldays).

Look at it. 

This BREAKFAST Muffin is BEAUTIFUL. Think Banana-nut bread married to a blueberry muffin. YUM!

I originally got this recipe from Chicita Banana (and made some changes) in an effort to find a place to put the bananas that my husband asked for but failed to eat. Pet Peeves: 1. brown bananas on my counter and 2. throwing uneaten fruit away. Sometimes I think he doesn't eat his bananas on purpose, just so I will bake something with them. That's okay, sweetheart, I do like baking.

Banana Blueberry Breakfast Muffins:

Ingredients:

The Muffin:
2-3 whole Bananas (brown)  
1 large Egg, beaten
3/4 cup low-fat Buttermilk
1 cup Flour (or 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup of wheat germ***)
1 cup rolled Oats (old-fashioned or quick cooking will work too)
3/4 cup (packed) Brown sugar
1 tsp. Baking soda 
2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 cup Fresh Blueberries (or fully thawed frozen blueberries)

The Topping:

1/4 cup Rolled Oats (old-fashioned or quick cooking work too)
1/4 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 Tbsp. (packed) Brown sugar 

 1Tbsp. Butter, melted

Instructions:

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin pan with foil liners

2. Combine all topping ingredients except butter in a small bowl. Add melted butter to oats mixture and toss with a fork till well coated. Set Aside.

3. Mash bananas in a medium bowl. For a quick mash, try using your potato masher. Add in egg and buttermilk. No buttermilk on hand, no problem. Make sour milk. 3/4 Tbs of vinegar into measuring cup and fill the rest with milk until 3/4 cup line.

4. In a large bowl, combine the rest of the muffin ingredients except for the blueberries.

5. Add banana mixture to large bowl. Stir until just combined. Don't overstir. Overstirring causes muffins to be tough.

6. Fold in Blueberries.

7. Spoon mixture into muffin tins. Add topping to the top. Place in middle rack of your preheated, 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.

This tasty batter is ready to go into the oven and make my house smell yummy.

It's my picky preschooler approved!

A perfect pairing for preschoolers: Brainfood muffins and Laura Numeroff's If You Give a Moose a Muffin.

Why I Love Wheat Germ:

***I need to take a moment to tell you about the wonderfulness that is wheat germ. Sounds gross, like, hello, we try our best to keep our kids germ free! But seriously, name aside, this stuff is awesome.  Wheat germ is the reproductive part of wheat kernel (hence the germ in the name: think germinate, not bacteria). It has a subtle sweet and nutty flavor (even more pronounced and wonderful when toasted), and its packed full of protein, folates, vitamin E, potassium and iron. It is healthy that tastes better! Best part is, I can sneak in some nutrition on my green-food fearing daughter (nutrition that tastes like it belongs there... yep, I have so tried to hide green beans in her bites of mashed potatoes... fail!) I find wheat germ in the flour/baking section of my grocery store, but some carry it in the health foods section.  You can substitute 1/2 cup of wheat germ for 1/2 cup of flour in any bread recipe. Try it!!!

Chiquita Banana has tons of other delicious and healthy places to put your extra bananas on their website http://www.chiquitabananas.com/Banana-Recipes/index-best-healthy-recipes.aspx

Saturday Mornings...

I love to cook. I love to cook for people. It makes me happy making people happy. Fortunately for me, I married a man that loves to eat. He feels loved when I create in the kitchen. We are a winning combo if I do say so myself.

So, enter Saturday mornings... Husband worked hard all week, I had the kids to myself save but those few glorious moments of shower time when Mike read Addy her bedtime story and Jed slept. We had high moments--Addy learned to count a little higher, Jed made precious sleep smiles, Dad got an extra job put on his route and therefore made more money. We've had low moments-- Addy's potty training accidents, Jed's irregular feeding schedule, not getting a minute to myself, or Daddy working late. Saturday morning is REDEMPTION. The chance to do things as I wish I could always do them. The chance to not run out of patience, the chance to enjoy my kids with my parenting partner and best-support-a-girl-could-ask-for present, the chance to not set the food on fire because Addy had an accident on the carpet, Dad was working really late, and Jed needed to eat all at the same time (yes, i have so been there, but don't worry, if you are taking cooking tips from me I don't ALWAYS set the food on fire. haha) Had Adam and Eve not sinned, this is what I imagine every morning would look like.

I wake up (usually when the munchkin has found her way into my bed and keeps asking "'Wake, Mom?" Seriously, Addy, if I answer you, I AM awake). I enter the kitchen and make breakfast, Addy watches her favorite movie or helps me stir stuff. My husband wakes up, usually to the smell of food. My Saturday mornings are very normal.

Sometimes normal is good. Very good.

Saturday mornings, I pour out my love for my family into blueberry pancake batter and crackling bacon... the LOVE that I wish I had shown that time that I yelled at my daughter, the FOCUS that I wish I could give my newborn even when his older sister needs a lot of attention, the WARMTH that I wish my husband got from me when he was trying to be romantic and I was too exhausted from pouring out to our kids to feel I had anything left to give. I cook away the week, make food we all like, all can take part in the making and definitely can take part in the eating. And, ah, as the gorgeous berry butter is melting on my lemon-zested pugliese french toast sprinkled with powdered sugar (I feel my waistline increasing just writing the description!), so I can feel the trials of the past week just melt away. I get a moment to savor life and thank God for my many blessings.

I LOVE Saturday mornings! (big sigh) So, dear family of mine, please know I love you with all my heart and am thankful for you EVERYday of the week (Sunday through Friday included).

My breakfast favorites:

• Orange Juice: too expensive to buy for everyday consumption, but great for a once a week treat. 
• Good ol' fashioned Bisquick pancakes with fresh or frozen blueberries added
• BACON (Hey it's Saturday!)
• French Toast as only the Pioneer Woman can do it... Had it for the first time and it is heaven here on earth http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/07/french-toast-with-berry-butter/
• Egg Scramble: I throw 4 eggs, some milk... like 1/4 cup, a tsp or so of Mediterranean seasoning blend from McCormick, and dice up whatever lunch meat my husband has left from his week of sandwiches (usually ham or turkey) into a bowl, wisk it a little and put into a medium heat pan. After the eggs are just about cooked through I add some shredded monterrey jack cheese and flip it all around to distribute the cheese and melt it. Yummy. Lots of room for yummy variations with scrambled eggs and a great place to put left-over meat.
• Quiche: I like mine with Fresh Basil, portobello mushrooms, onions... I will have to pull out that recipe and post it. It is yummy!
• Breakfast Burrito: I do scrambled eggs, a bag of frozen potatoes o'brien, bacon (or whatever I have on hand), monterey jack cheese, and taco sauce. 

So, since my camera apparently never works on Saturday mornings, here is a picture of breakfast from Addy's 3rd birthday. Nothing quite like Pancakes, bacon and eggs! (Notice the not-very-dinosauresque t-rex pancake. Addy loved it even though you probably can't tell what it is!)

Make it FUN for your Picky Preschooler:

• Dinosaur sandwich cut-out: It's just a sandwich-sized piece of plastic that cuts dinosaurs into my dinosaur-loving child's sandwiches. I found it in the grocery store and thought it could be the stupidest and most useless kitchen tool I ever buy or it could be one of the best. It was one of the best. Never under-estimate how much children love FUN looking food. It is how I get Addy to eat a healthy tuna on whole wheat during the week and how i get her to eat a very fancy-looking and tasting french toast.
• Loosen up Momma and let your preschooler help you. And, usually, if they made it, they will at least try it. You may have a mess to clean up afterwards, but, hey, its saturday! Making messes is FUN!... even if cleaning them is not. (And if you are anything like me, you make a mess in the kitchen anyways)
• Let your child tell you what shape pancake he/she wants. You may not be an artist especially with a large spoon and batter, but fortunately for you, your child has an imagination bigger than your lack of ability to make a t-rex shaped pancake. They will see it anyways.
• Burrito Power: I have found that if I stick it in a burrito, Addy will eat it. She doesn't even look inside unless I get bold and stick something she really hates in it. (I apply this rule to fish taco night too, adults have tacos, while addy's soft taco is rolled like a burrito... Yep! She eats the fish!)
• Um... and as for kid-ified quiche, I am not sure quiche can be made kid-friendly??? At least I haven't figured that one out. Bacon helps though, bacon always help make something good. Let me know if you know a way to make kids love quiche!

Here's to Saturday, Friends! And here's to you having a blessed one!
Amanda