Free Admission at GR Museums

Baby meltdowns can't be predicted (though prevention by careful observance of nap time works, I'm sure). So it seems crazy to spend $5 or more for cultural stimulation only to leave 10 minutes into a visit because of a diaper blowout or a screaming, arms and legs thrashing....wow...I'm scaring myself before I've even taken one of these trips. Must have confidence in my redirection technique.

Public Museum
Mondays; Open 10AM-5PM; carousel is $1; parking garage half price with museum ticket

Art Museum
Tuesdays from 1PM-5PM; Monroe Ave. parking garage has one hour free(perfect for a baby visit!)...enter from Ionia

Grand Rapids Children's Museum
Thursday from 5PM-8PM; good luck with parking! Visit the Public Library and they validate for a free hour of parking in their lot.

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
No free times but a good place for a walk!

And someday...a weekend trip

Indianapolis Children's Museum

Wonderful place for adults, too! Make a weekend trip to see the museum, spend time on the canal walk, and take a picnic to Garfield Park and see the Conservatory and Sunken gardens.

Raging Hormones

This post is quite relevant as my post baby hormones return to normal.

Recently in the local paper an article appeared about Meijer and Spartan milk going "hormone-free."

My knowledge of our food chain is limited. I go to Meijer for neat, prepare packages of food, take it home, and eat. Not sure of the sources, but I have heard info about artificial growth hormones in our food. The story that sticks out in my mind is that it causes early maturity in girls...not for my Baby LJ!

So what's the deal? Here's interesting sites on the topic:

The Center for Food Safety

• This organization seems to be working on some worthy "right to know" causes, but I found this article on bio solids. I'd be interested in my moms opinion, as she's in the "business."
• Whether you agree with what they say, support our right to know where our food comes from.
  

"Hormone Free Better?"

• I found this article humorous, but offers another perspective.

Food and Drug Administration

• Need to dig around here...if YOU find anything good, let me know!

I tend to believe research needs to be LONG term to trust that you know what you and your family are being exposed to. So better to be cautious, right?

Finger Food

Todays carrots are the second try at getting M to eat them. The orange shavings went into a little bowl on his tray. M nibbled on one or two when I got him seconds of tuna pasta. I figure one more presentation and he'll be hooked!

M was not interested in the bananas at all, but I enjoyed them! The little slices were shaken in a bag of crushed cherrios. Easy to pick up.

Snacky Alternative

M LOVES the toddler snacks from the grocery store. The cereal bar is one of his favorites. He wants one before and after meals, when he's tired....

The ingrediant lists has all the things considered bad...corn syrup, enriched white flour...

I thought of an alternative and Googled it. I remember it from my childhood....running around the living room listening to a record and eating peanut butter balls.

Is the dry milk needed? I don't remember adding that...of course it was probably 20 years ago!

Tofu Fun

I really enjoyed my first attempt at preparing new food for my 18-month old test subject and nephew, M. (Don't worry sister, I'll check with you before I feed him anything TOO crazy).

Marinated Tofu

3 to 4 Tbs. soy sauce
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 Tbs. Chinese sesame oil
1 Tbs. vinegar (rice or cider)
1 to 2 tsp. honey (optional)

Mix well and pour over 2--12 oz. pkg. of X-tra Firm Silken Low Fat Tofu that have been cut into cubes.

She recommended boiling tofu for 10 minutes to help firm it up. I also so in my search freezing for 24 hrs and than pressing between paper towel and a cutting board for about 30 minutes gets more moisture out. I haven't tried that technique yet.

This recipe came from Grandma R. She prepared it for my cousin when he was a young boy. I tried a couple cubes and enjoyed them, but for an adult you would need to add it to something, like a salad. Don't be fooled by the powerful smell of the marinade. The flavor is great.

Another thing to try....after marinade, toss cube in cracker crumbers to make it easier for little fingers to grasp.

Todays Research

Google...a fine tool....but what do I search? Today I searched "natural baby food recipes." Not real specific.

Find: When making your own baby food, make a big batch and freeze in icecube trays for small portions.
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/eating/baby.html

This makes sense...reminder to look up portion sizes for infants and toddlers. I read somewhere that protien requirements for a 1-2or3 year old is a minimum of 16 GRAMS. That's not much.

I'm trying to change MY diet with portion control. I've gotten so used to filling our HUGE dinner plates, it's easy to get carried away! But my daughter will soon be learning from what her parents put in THEIR mouths so it's time to make some changes.

New Blog

I created this blog to keep track of my baby food research.

I have a few months before my 3 month old will start on solids. What will I feed her? What's good for her? What's all this I'm reading about organic, hormone-free, sugar, high fructose.....I could go on and on.

So instead of bookmarking a whole bunch of websites with one or two pieces of info I want, I figured this would be a good way to keep my reasearch organized!