I'll take that baby to go

Just when you cross one milestone with your child and you start thinking there will be less stuff to lug around, think again. I've posted before about the contents of my diaper bag and I really think I could have done a post every three months since Lucy was born and there would have been an evolution, but sadly not a reduction. When the thought pops in my head to go to dinner, run to the store or spend the day at the park, immediately my mental checklist goes into effect and I start conducting a thorough inventory of what I need to pack.

Since I've already written about my diaper bag, let's talk about the lunch bag and what else needs to come along for the ride (because who really gets out of the house with just a diaper bag, honestly).

Regardless of if we are going some place that will have food, I still always pack food. There's nothing worse than getting stuck at a slow restaurant or at a time when your little darling decides that the last thing in the world they want to do is eat unfamiliar food.

Here's a few easy ideas for snack packing ideas that come in handy for me:

1. Tinydiner Placemat: This rubber placemat unrolls and suctions to the table. It also has a little lip in the front to catch food before it hits the floor. I love this thing! Many times a plate or bowl isn't an option, so this is a nice alternative to putting food on a questionable surface. It also makes me feel like I'm making less of a mess in a restaurant.

2. Applesauce: Quick, easy and healthy. My favorite is Trader Joe's Big & Chunky.

3. Crackers & Humus: Lucy is going through a "dip" phase. Usually she just licks up the ketchup, ranch, mustard, what-have-you and leaves the actually food on the plate. Pretty gross. I don't feel bad about her eating humus by the cracker-full and she REALLY likes it! Her favorite crackers are multigrain and we usually stick to the plain humus.

4. Snack Trap: Whoever invented these, good job. So easy to toss into the backseat or to whip out of my purse. Filled with treats like Annie's Cheddar Bunnies, sliced grapes or edamame, this little guy is a must-have. I've just ordered an upgrade to this one.

5. Water: Always on-hand, always crucial! I got this bottle at Whole Foods. I like that I can buy replacement straws right there instead of feeling like I need to toss the whole thing out. It's also spill-proof and BPA free, so bonus for everyone.

6. Yogurt: This is also a current obsession. Easy to toss in a bag in a hurry, healthy and simple.

7. Spare Spoon: You never know when restaurant silverware will be too big to handle (or when you might need to bust out that yogurt).

8. Cereal bars: We like these Earth's Best ones. They are nice and soft, easy to chew, and they taste great!

Pictured above, I've been using a little storage container to pack snacks and meals that I picked up at Babies "R" Us. It's OK. It only has three compartments and it on the small side. I've ordered one of these, which I'm really excited about:

It's pretty pricey, but the amount of use I know I will get out of it will make up for it. I love that it has a bunch of compartments. As many Moms know, certain food just CANNOT touch each other (according to our kids) so this solves that problem by letting you pack more of a variety of foods. And, as you can also see here, it makes for some pretty great picture-taking as well! When it arrives and I give it a thorough test run, I'll post an update and let you know how I like it.

Besides everything above, our go-to snacks include:

  • Sliced fruit
  • Steamed veggies
  • String cheese
  • Cereal
  • Quesadillas
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Bread and butter slices

What snacks do your kids like?

What tips do you have for a mom on the go?

xo Becky

when life gives you lemons... use them to clean your kitchen

I Google. Yes I do. I Google super random things that even I can't remember why when I look back in my search history. Many times auto-fill will lead me on a strange journey through the interwebs until suddenly I discover a hidden gem. Such a thing happened the other week when a search accidentally turned up a review of different spray bottles (what?) and I stumbled upon this!

I've wanted to start making my own cleaning products again and, as a sucker for neat ideas wrapped in a cute design, fell in love with this all-inclusive DIY cleaning product kit by Full Circle.

The Come Clean Natural Cleaning Set by Full Circle comes with:

Two spray bottles, one squeezy bottle, two juicers, bottle labels, a recipe booklet and a cleaning cloth.

As an apartment renter I'm always very storage conscious. I don't want a bunch of crap around that I only use once in a while, so I could also appreciate that all the ingredients I needed were very versatile as well. In fact, the only thing I had to actually buy to get started was the castile soap.

I jumped right in and made three cleaners:

BATHROOM SPRAY

1 part vinegar

1 part water

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

This is a light cleaner that is great for daily wipe-downs of the counter or for a quick freshen up around the loo. I'll admit I still need to embrace my heavy-duty toilet and shower cleaners for now, but am looking into a safer homemade recipe that will stand up to those.

KITCHEN SPRAY

1 part vinegar

2 parts water

1 tablespoon of castile soap

Juice of 1 lemon

This cleaner gets an A+. Love it. I used it right away and it cut through the grease on my stove top and brightened my grout. I will, however be adding some essential oils for scent. Even though the vinegar smell quickly dissipates, I still like to feel pretty while I'm cleaning, so a little mint or lavender couldn't hurt, right? They also make many scented castile soaps that would do the trick as well.

ABRASIVE CLEANER

3 parts baking soda

1 part warm water

1 teaspoon of castile soap

Juice of 1 lemon

This I used in my sink and, again - wowzas for performance!

But, this is where I need to pause...

I need to be real here and tell you it wasn't all Marthy-Stewarty-perfect-and-wonderful. Everything was going great until I got to making the abrasive cleaner. I'm not sure what happened (and, no, I didn't mix the vinegar and baking soda), but the bottle exploded. Everywhere. Since the bottle comes apart near the top to accommodate the juicer, as I was shaking it up, it literally blew up in my face. My face, clothes, table, chairs, floor, walls - all covered in lemon, vinegar and baking soda. Wonderful!

Maybe I misread the recipe instructions and should have stirred it all up in a bowl first before pouring it into the container, but I thought the point was kinda that you could make it all inside the bottle.

Anyhoo, all in all...

But only because I got vinegar all over my face.

xo Becky

products i love... all on my own: the kitchen

You know those "products we love" lists in magazines? I always pretty much assume they're not really trying to tell me what the best things out there are, because they are getting paid off by the manufacturers of the products or something. But I LOVE those lists! Sign. I can assure you there has been no persuasion by anyone or anything other than me and my weird obsession with cleaning products. I can seriously have as much, if not more fun, shopping the cleaning aisles of Target as shopping for clothes.

So, for today... the kitchen.

1. Munchkin bottle brushes: Obviously I use these for cleaning baby bottles, but I find tons of other uses for them, too. I prefer these to other brands because the handle is bendy and the bristles are soft. This makes them super pliable and very easy to use. After they get a bit worn out for cleaning baby stuff I repurpose and use them to scrub the inside of skinny or oddly-shaped vases or even to stick down and clean inside of a drain.

2. Pop-up sponges: These are sold at both Trader Joe's and Williams Sonoma, although they're WAY cheaper at Trader Joe's. Sold in packs of 6 - 12 these babies are super economical. They're pretty tough the fist few times you use them (and I really don't like using a nasty sponge for too long) so I have zero guilt when I toss one away for a new one. Also, for someone with limited kitchen cabinet space they are super awesome storage-wise; each one before use is about a 1/4 inch thick.

3. Method lemon verbena antibacterial kitchen spray: Ok, I'll be the first one to admit I'm a packaging whore. Like a shiny object to a raccoon, I squeal with joy when I see an everyday product that has been made to look pretty. Because, why not?! Why do we need these ugly, clinical-looking products all over the place? Method not only makes attractive bottles, they smell awesome and, wait for it.... work REALLY well. There's nothing worse than buying something pretty only to find out it was a sham and the product sucked. (I guess that's how manufacturers trick people lime ME!) This spray is my favorite for all those reasons, plus it is safer to use around my daughter and pets and doesn't make me cringe when it sits out on my kitchen counter. It comes in lots of other scents, but for some reason this one just smells SO clean to me.

4. Method sea minerals dish soap: Ditto to everything above. This one also comes in clementine, cucumber, basil and ginger yuzu, but right now this scent is my obsession.

5. Baking soda: This product is the runner-up to duct tape for the "how many ways can you use me around the house" prize. Toss it in the fridge or freezer for freshness, use as a less noxious alternative to scrubbing your grout (Comet, barf!), sprinkle on the floor and attack with your Shark, put it in your garbage can, let it sit on burnt-on food in a pan overnight with water, put out a fire (and please don't accidentally mistake this tip for flour - I made that mistake and believe me, flour does not put out a stovetop fire!).

6. Dapple baby bottle soap: This one's for the mamas, too. This all natural soap is nice and safe to use on bottles and has the additional benefit of doing a really good job of getting the milk gunk out of the bottom of a bottle. Use it with your Munchkin brush and you're gold, GOLD! Also, the bottle is pretty cute...