Popcorn Truffles
Makes: about 4 dozen
Ingredients
1 microwave bag of popcorn, popped
1 cup roasted cashews
1-3/4 cups light corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup M&M’s Minis
Baby’s Sex Linked to Mother’s Optimism
study conducted at the University of Kent in England has shown that mothers who are optimistic about the lengths of their lives are more likely to give birth to a boy. The study surveyed 600 women who had recently had children. It was found that those women who believed they were likely to have long lives increased their chances of having a boy by 1% for each extra year they believed they would live. Researchers weren’t clear as to why exactly this is but suggested that hormonal or psychological factors could have a large influence. More research is needed to determine exactly how attitude towards life length affects a baby’s sex.
Source: Mary Vallis, National Post (A2)
source
10 Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy
As mothers tend to sacrifice during their lives to meet their children’s needs, a mother’s body will give up its own essential nutrients to provide health and growth for her developing baby. Unfortunately, the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) is often so nutritionally deficient that even this sacrifice does not guarantee adequate nutrition for the unborn baby.
Fortunately, there are a number of tips that, if followed during pregnancy, can help both baby and mother stay healthy and vital!
Here is my top 10 list for ensuring a healthy pregnancy. It includes recommendations on nutrition, vitamins, minerals and other common-sense tips that can lead to a happier, healthier and more vital pregnancy:
Creative Ways to Display Your Child’s Artwork
Most children create tons of art, craft projects, and other masterpieces to display around the house. Whether these creations are made at school or at home with an art easel like the Guidecraft 4 in 1 Flipping Table Top Easel, your child will want to keep several of them to show off to family and friends.
The typical way to display your child’s artwork is on the refrigerator or possibly hanging on their bedroom door, but what do you do when you run out of room and your little one can’t bear to throw his works away? Try a few of these creative ideas to display your kid’s masterpieces!
Star Cookie Trees
Makes: 3 star trees
Ingredients
1 package (18 ounces) refrigerated sugar-cookie dough
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 box (16 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon egg-white powder
5 tablespoons water, divided
Green food coloring
Red nonpareils
Red gum drop candies
How to help your baby love food
All parents want the best for their children and this includes a healthy, balanced diet. However, this is often easier said than done especially if your little one doesn’t take an open minded approach to food.
The best way to teach your children to love food is to gradually introduce a wide range of different flavours and textures during the weaning process. While your baby may not seem to love every food straight away, with little perseverance and a few cunning tricks you’ll be able to help them enjoy a balanced diet, full of all the nutrients they need to grow healthy and strong and lay the foundations for an opened minded approach to food when they’re older and able to choose what to eat themselves.
How to Put a Two Year Old to Sleep
Once, you could simply rock your infant to sleep. Now your child is a squirmy, strong-willed toddler who simply hates bedtime. But don’t dispair; a few simple steps can really help make bedtime a more pleasant time of the day
Steps
1-Determine a good time schedule. Allow plenty of hours between naptime and bedtime. If they are too close together, your child is unlikely to sleep.
2-A two-year-old should be sleeping at least 11 hours at night and 2 hours during the day. (Although this is average, not a solid rule).
Finger Food Babies Will Love!
by Sue Gilbert, M.S., Nutritionist
Breads, Cereals and Grains
Cooked whole wheat pasta (small shells or twists)
Dry, unsweetened cereal without nuts
Whole grain toast, waffle, or French toast strips (good with veggie or fruit purees)
Crisp crackers and Graham crackers
Soft cooked brown rice, pressed into a small ball
Bagels (stale ones are great for teething)
Tender, homemade, whole grain mini-muffins
Giving Juice To Your Baby
Fruit juice for babies — it sounds healthy enough, doesn’t it? Yet giving juice to your baby is not as beneficial as many parents believe.
Health organisations worldwide, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Food Standards Agency in the UK, recommend that babies receive no supplemental fluids during the first 6 months of life. This means no juice OR water — breastmilk or formula alone are sufficient for your baby’s needs. If you give juice to your baby before 6 months of age, you may find that this “fills him up”. This will then result in him consuming less breastmilk or formula, depriving him of the nutrients which are crucial to healthy growth and development.
