Toddler Food Strike Pineapple Tuna Salad

I love to cook. So, why does my toddler refuse to eat everything, even foods he used to love?

I guess, that’s normal. At least, that’s what it says online. Although, it sure is frustrating!

After trying to give him more finger foods, which he would promptly hand back to me and say “Mama” (meaning - Mama, you eat it) or throw on the floor, I tried to feed him myself. But, if it wasn’t oatmeal, he would just push my hand away or spit it out. I was flustered.

I never would have thought that tuna salad would do the trick, but he ate it… all of it! I think the key was, it was thick enough that he could spoon it out himself, soft enough, that the texture didn’t bother him, and sweet enough that he liked it. He could also dip crackers in it, which is a plus. Yeah! Finally something worked.

So, now that I know he likes tuna salad, I decided to try to make a version which is a bit healthier and which adds in some fruit. I like the fact that it has less mayonnaise and some healthy yoghurt instead. I’m sure you could also make a chicken salad that is similar, maybe even with some applesauce. I gave him this pineapple tuna salad for lunch today with crackers and he didn’t complain a bit. He actually said, “Yum!”

Pineapple Tuna Salad (4 toddler portions)

1 6 oz can tuna w/water
1 T plain yoghurt
1 T mayonnaise
1 T sweet pickle relish
1 T crushed pineapple

1 Handful cheese fish crackers, or other crackers for dipping.

1. Open tuna and drain water. Add to bowl.

2. Mix in yoghurt, mayonnaise, relish, and pineapple. Mix well.

3. Add 1/3 of tuna salad to a small plastic bowl.

4. Serve with cheese fish crackers.

This recipe couldn’t be easier. Let me know if your toddler eats it or if you have other great dishes that worked during your toddler’s food strike.

Nursing Scarf

It’s hot outside, at least 100 degrees.

I really feel sorry for those babies out there who are being nursed under heavy wool blankets. That’s gotta be hot and uncomfortable. Nevertheless, nursing out in the open just doesn’t seem appropriate in small town USA.

I have seen different kinds of nursing cover-ups, some more practical than others. I decided to make my own with what I find nice – comfort for baby, light and airy for both of us, and, if possible, a little bit stylish.

Hmmm…

Then, one evening it dawned on me. I have a zillion unused summer scarves from Germany that I once wore a lot, but now are just sitting up on a shelf. If I cut these scarves in half, I could use the one half as a cover up for the baby, and make ties out of the other half to go around my neck. Here is the first nursing scarf that I came up with. I love this scarf, because of the tassels and am happy that it now has a new use. In the picture, you can see me using this new scarf at the zoo. It worked great!

Here’s the how to:

1. I put the scarf over my shoulder and made sure that I had enough length to cover a nursing baby and marked this spot. I then cut the scarf horizontally at this point.

2. With the remaining material, I cut out two long strips of fabric about 2 inches wide. Then, I folded each strip on the reverse side and sewed along the edge, leaving about a quarter of an inch. I turned each strip back ride side front and ironed them flat. Now, I had the ties for my neck.

3. Now, take the ties and lay them lengthwise on the fabric, so that the open end is even with the rough end of the scarf that was cut and pin in place. Make sure the ties are at least a foot apart, so that you can look between them later to see your baby. My scarf was pretty wide, so I also had at least 6 inches left between the tie and the sides of the scarf. Now, sew the entire top of the scarf including the ties down about a quarter of an inch.

4. Take the end where you just sewed and fold it down again about an inch to an inch and a half and sew once along the bottom of the fold and once on the top. If you want to cinch your scarf later, or add some wire to make it more stable (you can by special wire in fabric for this at a fabric store), you have a place to do so.

5. Finally, Put the ties around your neck and tie them in a knot. Now flip the scarf over one shoulder and you are ready to nurse in style.

Homemade Travel Crib Mattress Pad

My husband and I decided to get a baby travel crib to use as a baby crib for Lukas’s first few months. Our apartment is not very large, and a travel crib has a lot of advantages: Firstly, it doesn’t take up much space. Secondly, you can push it around from room to room. Thirdly, it is much cheaper than a brand new bassinet/crib. And, finally, it’s high enough that our 19 month old can’t reach well into it. The one disadvantage? The mattress was very hard and sunk in a bit in the middle.

The solution ended up being a combination of flattening out the bed by adding a piece of cardboard and a blanket under the mattress and adding a mattress cover. The problem was only that they don’t make mattress covers for baby travel cribs. Therefore, I decided to sew one up myself.

I decided to use a similar concept to the baby pillows that I made for Jonas. They have just enough fluff to be comfortable, but are flat enough to be safe. I also added some fold over corners to the cover so that it would stay on the mattress, another safety guard.

I think the resulting cover is so cute, it is really a shame that you have to put a sheet over it. Maybe, when he’s a bit older, I’ll just leave it in the bottom of the playpen.

Here’s the quick and easy how to:

1. Measure your playpen/travel bed so that you know how big to make your mattress cover. Then cut out 2 pieces of material, plus 2 pieces of thin polyester backing adding a half inch to each side.

2. Now cut out 4 square pieces of material, about 8 x 8 inches. Fold material in half with the nice side on the outside.

3. Lay down the pieces as follows: First one piece of material with the good side facing up. Now add the triangles to each corner, so that the two open ends of the triangle are facing the corner. Then, add your next piece of material with the good side facing down. Finally, lay the polyester backing down on top. If you have difficulties sewing over polyester backing, add a layer of newspaper to this, which you can tear off later. Add stick pins around the entire square to hold.

4. Leaving about a half inch all the way around, sew around the rectangle until you are about 4-6 inches from where you started. Now turn the entire piece inside out, so that the right side of the material is now on the outside, and the polyester backing on the inside. You will see that the triangles can be folded to either side.

5. Finally, sew up the remaining 4-6 inches by hand and you are finished.

When I added this mattress pad to our crib, my baby finally slept “like a baby.” If you need a temporary crib or travel a lot, consider making your own mattress pad.

Baby Break

Lukas Jacob is here!

Lukas Jacob Donner was born at 6:06 p.m. on Sunday, May 8, 2011.



Hello everyone,

I just wanted to let all of my readers know, that I will be taking a blog break for the month of May. I gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby boy on Mother's Day and think it's time to take a little break from blogging to just enjoy my little guy. Lukas and I are now home recuperating and just enjoying our time together, now as a family of four.

See you soon!

Kelley

Movable Door Height Marker

When I was a little girl, the door frame to my bedroom was covered in marks depicting not only my height at various ages, but also the height of my friends and even my stuffed animals. Even after I stopped growing, I loved looking at it and seeing what years I really shot up and who I was friends with at different times. There was so much history on such a short little space.

Now that Jonas is getting older, I wanted to have a place where I could also mark his height. Unfortunately, I've moved so many times in the last few years that I really doubt that it makes sense to use a door frame. So I decided to make a door height marker that I could take with me from one place to the next.

This movable door height marker is made out of material and is a bit different than the one on my bedroom door. I love the visual of seeing how much one grows during each year, because it varies so greatly. Therefore, I decided to cut and sew a piece of material for the first year and then to add pieces of material which extend from this piece for every year after that.

At the moment, I only have two pieces of material for Jonas, since he is only 18 months old. The first is 21.3 inches long, his birth height, and the second is 9.7 inches, since he was 31 inches at one year (21.3 + 9.7 = 31). On his second birthday, I will add a third piece of material to his marker.

This door height marker can be hung in a door frame, or hung on the wall until the child is a bit older. If you have more than one child, you could hang them next to each other to compare heights. Maybe someday I will sew this one into a quilt and give it to my child when they go off to college, have their own child, etc...

Here is the how to:

1. Cut a piece of material which is four and a half inches wide and so long as your child was at birth plus at least a half an inch. Turn the insides of the material together and sew along the edges with about a quarter inch remaining, leaving the top open. Now turn it back right side in, fold in the top edges a quarter inch and leaving the top open, sew around these edges or iron them down with heat bonding tape. Iron flat.

2. Iron Wonderunder to a contrasting fabric and then cut out the name of your child and how tall they were at birth. Iron this onto your material. Your first piece is finished!

3. For every year your child is old, add another piece of contrasting material and the age of the child. Eventually, your door height marker will be very colorful and a great way to remember how small your child once was.

Healthy Mexican Soup

I love Mexican food, especially burritos and nachos. However, sometimes it’s good to have Mexican taste, without all of the cheese and fat that we usually add to our so-called Mexican food.

This soup tastes light and summery with a great hint of lime. It’s great for lunch or a light supper.

Please, do me one favor. If you make this, don’t skimp on the lime, cilantro, or fresh avocado. They really add the necessary flavor. Trust me, your taste-buds will love it!

Mexican Soup

1 chicken breast
1 small onion, diced
3 green onions
1 can red beans
1 can corn
1 can black beans
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can water
2 T brown sugar + 1 t brown sugar
1 T paprika, cumin, chili powder
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste
Cilantro
Chopped avocado
Lime juice
Tortilla chips (optional)

1. Brown onions in a little olive oil. Then add diced chicken (see step 2) and spices.

2. For this soup, I like to take already prepared grilled chicken. We often grill up a few extra chicken breasts when we BBQ on the weekend, so that we have chicken for salads and other meals throughout the week. You can also brown the chicken ahead of time. Then dice and add to onions.

3. Add all your canned ingredients and the 2 T brown sugar. Cook until boiling, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add a few squirts of lime juice.

4. Pour soup into bowls, crunch some tortilla chips on top (or eat them with the soup), and add the avocados as a garnish. I like to chop up the avocado into little pieces, sprinkle with sugar and a bit of lime juice. You can also add a little cilantro as a garnish as well. This soup works great for entertaining.

Floppy Dog

This is one of my first sewing projects after getting pregnant with my first child. My husband and I knew that we would be moving the same month the baby was born and I wanted to get rid of as much clutter in the house as I could before we started packing. I had a bunch of scrap material that I decided I didn’t really need. Nevertheless, as an artist, it is sometimes hard to part with things that you have collected for future projects (whether or not these projects ever occur) and so I decided to sew up a few things first.

The idea for Floppy actually came from my childhood and memories of my Grandma Hilda who used scraps to make everything from blocks to stockings. I decided that a stuffed animal would be a good gift for me to give my child and that using the old material would be a sentimental way for me to remember my pregnancy and the anticipation of things to come.

Here is the how to:

1. I first drew a picture of what I wanted to make. I decided on a dog (although it has some similarities with a cow as well). You can use any animal, just make sure that you keep it simple. My dog basically has 3 parts: a rectangle for a body, a rounded rectangular head, and limbs/tail/ears plus your extras like eyes/pockets. Once you have drawn your animal, make patterns for each of these parts, making sure to leave about a half an inch of material anywhere you will sew.

2. Now decide what material you will use. Cut out the pieces according to your patterns, and then arrange them on a table so that you can see what your animal will look like from the front and the back. I like to really mix my fabrics, making sure that at least one piece of each fabric is on the front and the back of the animal.

3. Now you can start sewing. I prefer to start with the limbs/tail/ears. They are really easy, as you only need to lay the two pieces of material with the good sides facing each other and then sew around the edge leaving the limb open where it will connect to the body. Turn back right-side-in and then stuff with polyester filling. You may need to use a pencil to really get the filling into every corner of the limb.

4. Once all of your limbs/tail/ears are finished, it’s time to work on the head. First add your eyes. You can either sew these on by hand, or you can do them with the machine. I usually fold the edges of the material first and iron them flat. Then I sew around ¾ of the eye using the machine, stuff in some polyester filling, and then sew the eye shut. Finally, I sew the pupil using dark thread. If you do other accents, like making the head out of two different pieces of material, or adding X’s for nose/mouth, then you will also need to do this now. Now you can lay your two head pieces together, using stick pins, place the ears where they should go, sew around the whole head, and stuff it like you did the limbs. Since I sewed my head directly on the front of the body, I made sure to finish the head completely, hand sewing the final hole shut, where I had added the stuffing.

5. Now, it is time to get the body ready. I have added a pocket accent to my Floppy dog. This is just a pocket from a pair of jeans. You can often buy loads of them at your second-hand store. I like to use them on projects for fun. After sewing on the pocket, you will need to use stick pins and pin the head on where it should go. I sewed the head onto the body by hand, since I wanted it to lie on the front of the body (If you have a neck on your animal, this won’t be necessary, as you can sew it directly into the body). I made sure to sew it on really well, as I wanted to make sure that my son wouldn’t be able to pull it off.

6. Finally, I took the body and using stick pins, I placed all of the limbs/tail where they should go. Then sew around the whole body leaving only a little opening about an inch to an inch and a half wide. And, now for the fun part. Once you turn your animal back right-side-in, it is almost finished. All you need to do is stuff the body, and sew up your remaining hole and you are done. Yeah!

In the end, although it may seem like a long process, you will be amazed just how fast everything goes. I made Floppy in one weekend and was surprised just how easy it was.

If you have made similar stuffed animals, please post them. I’m always excited to see what others are creating!

Yummy Spring Apple Salad with Yogurt Dressing

This is now my favorite salad. It’s so crunchy, healthy, and yummy and you can eat as much of it as you feel like without ever feeling guilty (not like I would at the moment, being 8 months pregnant, but I’m thinking of you readers out there, too). The tangy yogurt dressing gives it a great kick and has no added oil or mayo, like most conventional salads you get at restaurants, and the other ingredients harmonize wonderfully giving this salad a nice spring flavor.

This salad is a healthier mix of two well-known salads, the Waldorf and the Cobb. Being pregnant, I can’t have the yummy blue cheese on the cobb salad and I love the dressing on the Waldorf, but didn’t feel like mayo and I wanted to have this salad as a main course and not a side. I remembered how much I loved the yoghurt dressings they make over in Europe, and thought I might put together something similar. In the end, the salad above is what came out of all this recipe daydreaming.

Recipe:

Salad
½ Iceberg lettuce
2 apples (I used Gala)
½ C chopped walnuts
½ C raisins
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 C diced grilled chicken (optional)

Dressing
Juice of 1 lemon
3 T plain yogurt
3 t sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley

1. Dice all salad ingredients and add to a large salad bowl.

2. For the dressing, I like to use a jar with a lid. Any medium sized jar is fine, including old jars from pizza sauce or jam which have been thoroughly washed in the dishwasher. You can shake the dressing, which is far easier than stirring, and if you have any unused dressing left, you can just pop the jar in the refrigerator.

3. Add all dressing ingredients to your jar, add lid and shake well. Your dressing is ready. You can either pour the dressing directly on the salad and mix it all together, or drizzle it on the salad directly before eating. Remember, because your salad contains apples, if you do not eat the salad immediately after preparing it, you may want to coat your apples in some lemon juice before adding them to the salad so that they don’t brown.

4. That’s all. Super easy, super good. Enjoy!

Baby's First Pillows

At 15 months, I decided that it was time for my son to get his first pillows.

He already had a blankie that he would keep wrapped around him no matter where he traveled in his bed. He loves his blankie and other than his comfort rag, it was the only thing allowed in his bed at night. Nevertheless, I had to admit, he was getting older and maybe it was time to pimp his bed a little.

I wanted to get him some pillows that fit his personality, but that weren’t too high or fluffy to make them unsafe. Most standard kid pillows are still too big for a child under one. Therefore, I decided to make them myself. The first night I gave Jonas his new pillows, he was so thrilled. I checked on him a few times and no matter where he was in his bed, his head was either on the pillow, or tucked under his arm. Often when he wakes up, he’ll look at his pillow and start babbling about all of the different cars and trucks on it. Now, he can’t go to bed without them anymore!

Since Jonas loves anything with wheels, I used some material I had which was covered in different vehicles, some racecar material, and some neutral material for the back of the pillows. The easiest way to make a pillow is to sew a square or rectangle and then stuff it with polyester backing. Nevertheless, polyester backing can start to clump when it is washed too often. Therefore, I decided to use polyester backing strips (You can buy it in a roll) which I could sew into the sides of the pillow, thus preventing clumping.

Here’s the how to:

1. Cut out two squares or rectangles of material into the size you would like plus a quarter to a half inch on each side. My pillows are 12 x 18 inches. Then cut out polyester backing strips the same size as your pillow. I used 4 layers of backing. Finally, cut out a piece of newspaper also the same size.

2. Layer the items as follows: First lay your two material pieces with the good sides of the material facing each other. Then, add the polyester backing over the material. Finally, lay the newspaper on top. It is much easier to sew over newspaper than polyester backing, which will catch on everything and snag. Now use stick pins all the way around to hold it all together.

3. Finally, sew around your pillow leaving about 6 inches on one side. Turn your pillow right-side-in. Using a needle and thread, sew the 6 inch opening shut. Your pillow is finished! Super easy.

Asian Butternut Soup

Here’s a really easy recipe for a delicious butternut soup.
Originally, I when I started making this soup, I had an entirely different soup in mind. However, I managed to get one of the least tasting butternuts at the store and had to rethink my soup.

I don’t know if you have ever experienced the same thing with pumpkin, but there is a big difference between a good one and a bad one. I’ve pureed butternut before, where you could eat it pure and it was delicious. This one, however, tasted like nothing with a hint of butternut. Therefore, I had to get creative.

I knew that I had some coconut milk in the cupboard for a Thai dish that I like, and I figured Asian spices would help to pep any bland soup, so I went from there. I decided on a bit of coconut, peanut butter, ginger, and Asian spices. In the end, my husband loved it and I was pretty impressed.

Here is the recipe, if you would like to have a go at it. I’m sure you could also add garlic, or coriander, Tabasco, or other spices of your choosing. Enjoy!

Butternut soup

1 whole butternut, cut into squares
1 red onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 large apple, chopped
1 t ginger, chopped fine
Spices: paprika, garlic salt, curry, salt and pepper (teaspoon each)
2 T creamy peanut butter
1 can coconut milk
2 T brown sugar

1. Add all ingredients in a large soup pot, add just enough water to cover. Boil about 15 minutes or until tender. Puree smooth.

2. Add all other ingredients and mix well. You may need to add more or less spices depending on how ripe your butternut is. A good butternut hardly needs any spices at all, but a bad one doesn’t taste like much of anything.

3. Garnish with green onions or chopped peanuts.

Haircuts, Bathtubs, and Nutella

I finally cut my son's hair not too long ago. It was the first time ever, and I hadn't realized how difficult it would be. I know he looks cute on this picture, but, trust me, he really needed a haircut. His hair was really long in back, almost non-existent on the sides, and very different lengths on the top. My family was always referring to it as his baby-mullet. Nevertheless, the 80's are over. Thank goodness!



Jonas
before

and
after
haircut









My neighbor, whose son is a couple months older than Jonas, took her son to the hairdresser to get his haircut for the first time a couple weeks ago. He has stick straight hair. It didn't look like it would be hard to cut. She came back with his haircut only on one side. From what I heard it was a disaster. I guess, one and a half year olds are just not ready to sit still while a stranger takes a scissors to their head.

I also read a couple entries on Facebook from friends of mine who wrote how they dreaded having to cut their child's hair again. They said their kids screamed, moved their arms around, or just plain refused. Sitting on mama or daddy's lap didn't seem to help either.

I tried to take their advice and realized I had to have a plan. I knew that if Jonas saw the scissors, i.e. me standing in front of him, he would want to have them so that he could explore what a scissors is. That would definitely not work. And, if he sat on daddy's lap and I moved around him, it probably wouldn't be much better. I decided I would need to distract him with what he loves best. I remembered a friend of mine in Germany, who would give her son a spoon full of Nutella so that she could cut his nails. Not a healthy route, but it did work. So what does Jonas love more than anything? Water!

I decided to cut his hair in the bathtub. I got in with him and sat down behind him. Right outside the tub, I had a few papertowels and a large bowl. I put in plenty of bubbles and gave him lots of toys. It worked! I was able to work on his head for as long as I needed. He didn't care as long as he could play in the tub. I used a comb and then pulled the hair between my ring and middle finger (like I saw the pros do), but had the palm of my hand facing me so I could catch most of the hair when I cut. I then dumped this hair in the bowl next to the tub. Alright, I'll admit, a certain amount of hair landed in the tub, but it didn't matter because I was actually able to give my child a decent haircut and save some of those glorious curls for an album.

The tub haircut worked for Jonas, but I have another baby on the way. He might not be so easy to fool. So I'm curious, how do or did the rest of you cut your child's hair? Any success or horror stories?

Teething Scarves

Pics:

Various
Teething
Scarves

Jonas at
7 and
15 months

Most people think of scarves as something that you wear to be warm or fashionable. I’ve now come to the conclusion that there is another great use - as a teething scarf.

The moment Jonas turned seven months and started getting teeth, his salivary glands began working overtime. At that point, I decided to sew up a few handkerchief-sized scarves in my sewing class to help catch a bit of the downpour. I had seen kids in Germany wearing little scarves, but had never thought of them having any practical purpose other than for added warmth since German homes are kept at colder temperatures than American ones. Nevertheless, as teething scarves, they worked wonderfully and looked cute as well.

Recently, Jonas started getting his first year molars, and I have had to sew up a few more. There were days when he went through 3 or 4 scarves. If I forgot to put a scarf on, his shirt would be soaked with drool in no time. A wet shirt in the winter can’t be very comfortable, so I always try to remember to put one on. With the scarves, every time one got too wet, I would just take it off and put on another one. Now, my boy could stay warm and relatively dry.

How to:
I’ve made quite a few scarves over the last few months (I posted only a few to this page). The majority of them were triangular. This is a very simple scarf to make. All you need to do is cut out a square piece of material. Then fold over the edges with the nice part of the material on the inside and sew all the way around leaving only a little hole to turn the material back right side in. Then once you have turned the material from inside out to right side in, fold and pin the hole shut and sew a nice border all the way around. Finished!

You can also make a long rectangular scarf out of fleece or flannel for winter; however, without the added triangle in the front, it doesn’t catch as much drool.

If you would like some added fun, add an iron on to the front of the scarf, some strings on the edges, quilt the material first, or embroider the child’s name on the front. Let your creativity lead you!

No Cabbage, Cheesy Bierrocks

I came up with this recipe, because my husband wanted bierrocks and I didn’t have any cabbage. Also, I love the bierrocks concept.

In comparison to a hamburger, you can actually get some veggies in a bierrock that your kids will eat (you could trade zucchini in this recipe for about any other green vegetable). I actually like this recipe better than the traditional cabbage one, because the inside is a bit creamy and cheesy. My fifteen month old also loved it, so you could call it a great family dish.

Don’t worry, if you have never made a yeast dough before. It’s really easy, and you’d be surprised how good it turns out even if you are not skilled at kneading. I’ve given a few tips in the recipe on how to make things quick and easy. The main thing you need with a yeast dough is a couple hours to make sure the dough has time to rise. The dough itself, only takes about 5-10 minutes to make.

No Cabbage, Cheesy Bierrocks

Dough:
1 C warm water
1 pkg yeast
2 T sugar
½ t salt
¼ C olive oil
1 egg, beaten
3 C flour (2 C whole wheat/1 C white)

Filling:
1 lb ground beef
1 onion
¼ bell pepper (any color, depending on taste)
1 zucchini
1 T honey
1 T flour
1 T butter
Circa ½ C milk
1 /c shredded cheese
Spices: celery salt, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper

Makes 12 bierrocks.

1. In a large bowl, add water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until foamy.

2. Add salt, oil, and beaten egg. Mix well.

3. Add 3 cups flour. First mix with a spoon until you can form it into a ball with your hands. Then knead for a few minutes in the bowl (adding a little more flour if necessary) until you have a nice ball of dough that is uniform. Tip: to knead dough, punch down and forward with the bottom part of the palm of your hand, then take the dough that has been pushed forward, fold it over towards you, and punch it down again…

4. Let dough rise until double in size. Roll out on a floured board until the dough is about ¼ inch thick. Cut into 12 squares with a butter knife.

5. While the dough is rising (beginning point 4), brown hamburger in a frying pan. Drain grease if necessary. I prefer to drain grease and add butter for flavor, but don’t forget, I am pregnant. Add vegetables and cook until slightly tender. Add spices to taste. A tablespoon of honey also really helps to pull the flavor together.

6. Sprinkle flour over meat mixture and mix in well. The flour should attach itself to the fat particles, so that when you add milk it doesn’t get clumpy. If this doesn’t happen, you will need to add more fat. Then add milk, adding more if necessary to make a thick sauce which just covers the meat. Finally, add the cheese, mix well and let your meat mixture cool.

7. Spoon meat mixture onto dough squares (see picture above right). Pull up dough from all corners (see picture left) and pinch shut. The dough doesn’t always pinch shut well, but don’t worry, because this part of the dough goes down on the pan and bakes together later. Place bierrocks on a greased cookie sheet.

8. Let bierrocks rise for about 15 minutes and then bake for about 25 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. All bierrocks taste great with ketchup, but I’m sure you could eat them plain as well. Enjoy!

Baby's First Drawing Greeting Card

When you have a baby, you have a lot of firsts. Most of these, you never get the opportunity to film, photograph, or document. Your child’s first drawings, however, are easily saved and also make great gifts.

The first time I gave Jonas some crayons and paper, he colored 4 or 5 sheets with big wavy lines. Sometimes, he even held a crayon in each hand and drew in stereo. Of course, I had to watch him the whole time so that he didn’t eat the crayons (they must taste good), but I must admit, most of the time he was more concerned with drawing than eating. He sure had a lot of fun.

I decided to make greeting cards out of most the drawings so that I could share this first with my family and friends who don’t live close by. Since I also had a bunch of little photos from our Sears portraits that we had made for Jonas’s first birthday, I decided to add them as well. Here’s the how to:

1. Cut out construction paper cards by folding the construction paper in half and cutting or tearing along the line. Then fold this piece again to make a card. To cut out the window, I folded one of the sides again in the middle and then cut out the square on the fold.

2. Cut your child’s drawings (mine were normal typing paper size) into four pieces. Tape or glue this drawing inside your window. If you would like a little more contrast, draw a black line around the frame before you add the drawing.

3. Glue on the child’s picture to the side of the drawing and write the child’s name and when the picture was made.

4. Finally, write a greeting inside the card. I wrote a greeting from my son stating how he had drawn his first picture. I also let Jonas color the envelopes. Then send your cards to your friends and family. Maybe your artwork will land on a refrigerator, or maybe, just maybe, your child will become famous and your friends and family will have a piece of your child’s very first artwork.

Homemade Blocks

I made these two blocks originally when Jonas was only a few months old and couldn’t even crawl, yet. My grandma Janzen had had handmade blocks at her house, and I always liked them. I figured, that blocks would also be a good sewing project, since they could be made quickly and Jonas could start playing with them asap.

At the time I made my first block, Jonas could only hold it between his hands and feet and giggle. Now at 15 months, he’s gone from just being able to hold a block in his hands, to throwing one easily across the room. They’ve definitely gotten a lot of play time and soon, I’m sure, he’ll start stacking them, just like I did with grandma’s blocks (I've since made more than two).

If you would like a good baby project and haven’t sewn in a while, or just have a lot of scraps lying around, then this is a good project for you. Here’s the how to:

1. Start by collecting scraps of materials with different textures. I used a lot of furry material on mine, mixed with bright patterned material. Then cut out equal sized squares. My squares were about 8 x 8 inches originally.

2. Lay the squares down on a table and arrange them the way that you would like to have your block look. That’s four squares down with one square on each side at the same point, just like a cross. On one block, I sewed Jonas’s name on a black velvet square at the center of the cross before I sewed the pieces together.

3. Now take your cross and making sure all of the pieces are upside down, start pining the sides of the cross together so that they are ready to go through your machine. Then sew all five of these sides.

4. Now the sewing will get a tiny bit more difficult, but not much, since as you sew the other sides together, your square will slowly take shape. Make sure to leave about 2 inches open on the last side of your last square so that you can turn your square inside out.

5. Now stuff your square with batting or foam. You can add an egg full of rice or a bell in the middle, if you want your block to make a sound when it is rolled. I have even put a crushed plastic bottle in the middle of one, since the plastic makes a neat sound. You will just need to make sure that you have enough batting all around your inner noise-maker.

6. One more tip. You can stuff your blocks really tight or leave them loose. Jonas loved the block where I added the least batting, since he could get the best grip on the corner and really squeeze it tight between his fingers. A neat tight square may look nicer, but it may not get as played with as a soft one.

7. Finally, sew up the two inches left on the one side and your block is finished. Congrats! Now your child has a toy that they can play with for a long time that is original and won’t break like a plastic one. My grandma’s blocks are still in use and hopefully, my blocks will also be enjoyed just as long.

Blueberry Pancakes

I make pancakes every Saturday. Sometimes I make them without blueberries, add a bit of vanilla and cinnamon to the batter, and then eat them with peanutbutter and maple syrup. Yum. This morning I made blueberry pancakes at the request of my husband. Nevertheless, my 14 month old son loved them just as much. He decided, however, to tear apart the pancakes until he could pick out all of the blueberries, which he loves the best. He sure did have fun and still has purple fingers.

These pancakes are really easy and taste great. Give them a try and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

1 C white flour
½ C whole wheat flour
¼ C sugar
3 ½ t baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 beaten egg
¼ C oil
1 ½ C buttermilk
1 C fresh or frozen blueberries
Butter for frying
Maple syrup (get the real stuff!)
Makes enough pancakes for two hungry adults and one baby.

How to:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together. You can use all white flour if you like, or more whole wheat, however, the white flour will make the fluffiest pancakes.

2. Add egg. I usually just beat the egg in the measuring cup and then use the cup for the rest of the ingredients. It’s less to wash later. Add oil and buttermilk. Mix well.

3. Add blueberries to batter. Fold or barely mix in.

4. Let batter sit 10 minutes. This lets the baking powder begin to rise and makes your pancakes even fluffier. You can also let it sit longer, but a few minutes does make a difference.

5. Using medium heat, add a little bit of butter to the pan. I just use a simple Teflon covered frying pan. Use a ladle and pour about four pancakes into the pan. When they start to bubble in the middle, flip. Leave in pan another couple minutes and put on serving tray.

6. My husband and I like them with maple syrup. But, I’m sure whip cream or powdered sugar would also taste great. Enjoy!

Christmas Stockings

I still have two stockings from my childhood. One is from my grandma van der Werf, which was carefully knitted in red, white, and green with a santa on it and my name across the top. The other was quilted with random fabrics from my grandma Janzen. Both have very different meanings for me and were part of different traditions. Nevertheless, I treasure both, especially the memories they bring.

I decided this year that stockings would be a good tradition to start with my family. I didn’t have the time to really plan out the patterns for each stocking, so in essence, they made themselves along the way. I made four stockings, since I am pregnant with boy number two, and cut out pieces for another one, just in case. I’m sure if I get pregnant again, I might not have time to make another stocking with two boys running around, and I didn’t want child number three to have the quickly boughten commercial stocking.

I wanted to make each stocking similar, but yet individual. This was easy for Jonas. He loves tractors and anything that has wheels. The patterns for the other stockings took a little more thought, and if the boy on the way doesn’t like cars, I’ll have to make him another stocking. Here’s the how to:

1. I first went to the fabric store and bought a bunch of Christmas fabric that matched well together. Then I made a pattern for the stockings (I laid down a sock on a piece of paper and drew around it), and cut out all of the socks out of red Santa suit like material.

2. Then I cut out squares of the other fabric and ironed Wunderunder on the back of it. I drew stars and circles on construction paper and used these as patterns. Then I laid these patterns on the Wunderunder and drew around them. Finally, I cut out the stars, balls, stocking toes and heels out of the Wunderunder-ironed material and placed these on the stockings where I wanted them. Then, they were ironed into place.

3. Since the names were ironed onto a piece of felt, I had to sew the felt onto the stocking. I then used the sewing machine to sew around some of the stars, the toes and heels, etc. so that they looked like they had been sewn on and not ironed on.

4. I used some white chenille fabric for the tops of the stockings. Sewing this onto the tops of the socks was like sewing a cat (Sorry, but, it’s the first thing that came to mind). I had never sewn chenille before, and you really can’t see what you are doing at all through all that hair. In the end, luckily, it looked alright.

5. Finally, I laid the reverse sides of the stockings together and sewed around the original sock drawing and then turned them back right-side-in. Now, I could see the finished product. I possibly could have made them bigger. I don’t think an orange would fit in the toe. But, then again, who gets an orange for Christmas anymore? I hung a little loop at the top and then voila they were finished. Maybe next year I’ll get them hung up before the 23rd of December. By then, Jonas will be big enough to look forward to what’s inside.

Advent Wreath

One of the traditions I always love in my husband's family is the lighting of an advent wreath the Sundays before Christmas. My husband Matthias's parents have a tree farm (they do forestry) and therefore not only cut their own trees for Christmas, but also have plenty of pine to make great decorations around the house. My mother-in-law makes advent wreaths for all of the children out of a circle of pine with red candles.

This year my husband and I will be spending Christmas in California. Decorating a palm tree is nice, but doesn't smell as good as fresh cut pine. Luckily, I was able to get my hands on some fresh cut pine and decided it was time for my own traditions. Nevertheless, I still got some tips from my mother-in-law on how to prepare a wreath since it was my first time.

I think it turned out pretty well. The only thing it is missing is candles. Normally, there are four candles placed around the wreath, which are lit each week until Christmas. However, with a one-year-old who just learned to walk, I thought this year candles in a glass might be a big more practical. Therefore, I will still light the candles one by one, just not on the wreath. In Germany, many people also put real candles on their Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. It looks very pretty, but coming from Kansas, I've just seen too many fires first hand to completely enjoy the spectacle, especially when there are kids running around. Hopefully, my children won't hold it against me. When they are older, we can get riskier with the Christmas deco.


Here's the how-to on the wreath:
1. Get some thick wire and make a ring. This is the base for your wreath.

2. Then take some newspaper and wrap it around the ring until it is about an inch and a half thick. Use some thin wire to hold the newspaper in place looping the wire around the ring in a circular fashion. Make sure the wire ends are securely fashioned and not sticking out.

3. Now take small branches, 6-12 inches long, and begin on one side putting the ends of the branch under the wire on the base. Make sure the branches all go the same direction or your wreath will really look silly. You may have to circle around a few times until you can't see the newspaper anymore.

4. Finally, if you would like to add some accents, tie a ribbon around the wreath or add some candles. If you have some holly, dress it up a bit. And, now all you need are some matches...

Homemade Advent Calendar

Having lived over in Germany for so long, I really grew fond of the German Adventskalender, or in English advent calendar. Most Americans are familiar with the calendars that you can buy at Aldi, which are filled with little pieces of chocolate behind little doors for every day of the month of December until the 24th. However, there are a lot of other calendars that are far more creative. I've seen friends pack a basket full of gifts all numbered from 1 to 24, sew up little pouches that are hung up on a string, or even give a case of beer where each beer is numbered. There are endless possibilities.

The calendar that I decided to make is a very traditional one, which is often hung up on the back of a door or above the fireplace. It consists of 24 little pouches which can be filled with different gifts every year. I decided to make this kind of calendar, because it will allow me to vary the gifts from year to year. This year, for instance, I have a combination of chocolate for my husband, and cheerios for my one year old son.

How to:

1. First, I did the numbers and letters. I decided to cut a few corners on this project and use Wonderunder and material for the letters and numbers. Wonderunder allows you to take normal material and iron it on to other material, without having to sew anything. I figure, if I have time next year, I can always sew around the numbers and letters. But, it's not necessary.

2. Then, I did the number pouches. I cut out little squares of black felt to add contrast to the pouches. The pouches were sewn up out of little squares of colorful material. I ironed all of the corners first, which really helped to make the sewing go faster, and then sewed the pouches onto the felt.

3. Finally, I used some quilting backing and sewed up the background just like a little blanket. I kept a piece at the top open for a dowel (not pictured).

This project actually went a lot faster than I had anticipated and now I have an advent calendar for many years to come. It's worth the time and kids and adults love the anticipation of opening a gift every day. Enjoy!