Printable Toy Car Road Map

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and for many families that means traveling to see relatives. We now have a two year old and a two month old so I am anticipating our five hour road trip might not be the most enjoyable experience for any of us, but it is totally worth it to see family! I have been racking my brain with ideas to keep my toddler busy on this drive!

The other day, I purchased this great car seat tray from a friend of mine for Aiden to play on while on the trip:

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I already have crayons and coloring books packed, but I was trying to think of some more fun toys he can use on this tray. The picture shows toy cars, and seeing this I came up with a great idea! A small Toy Car Road Map!

I looked all over online to see if someone had one of these available that I could just print off, but the search resulted in nothing :(

That is when I decided to use my skills as a graphic designer! I found some free map elements online and created my own little road map for Aiden to play with online.

I printed them on two 8.5"x11" sheets of photo paper...but really any paper will work. I wanted a little weight to the paper and I am out of white card stock, so photo paper was my next option. 

Next I put them in a sheet protector, back to back. The tray isn't big enough to have them side by side, so he can flip this over and change the map if he likes. Also, the sheet protector will hopefully protect it from spills and food in the car.

 The size is just perfect for the map! There is also space on the side to store extra cars.

As I am writing this blog and taking pictures, Aiden can't help himself to play with the map as I am doing so :) Hopefully, he will feel the same way in the car tomorrow! 

Here are the road maps up close:

If you would like your own road map, you can click on the pictures above and download the pdf. In case there are other graphic designers out there, I left the pdf to be editable in illustrator if you would like to move the buildings and roads around. 

Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels!!!

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Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole

Yesterday I received a call from my sister Luci requesting my husband's mother's Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe. She said, "I looked for it on the blog, but I couldn't find it." That is when I realized I have never posted this very popular dish of my husband's family. In fact, my husband says every year how this dish is his favorite of all the Thanksgiving dishes. This dish has been liked by so many, that I have given out the recipe too many times to count (hopefully it's not a secret family recipe!) The dish can be made the night before for easy baking. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! (I will try to take a picture of the casserole myself this Thanksgiving, until then here's one I found online that looks similar.)

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8 medium sweet potatoes or 8 medium yams
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 stick melted)
1/3 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour

1. Boil sweet potatoes or yams till soft. Mash together.
2. Mix mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup melted butter, evaporated milk, eggs and vanilla. Mix together and beat well.
3. Pour into a 9 x 13 pan.
4. Now make the topping. Mix brown sugar, flour, and pecans together.
5. Mix in remaining cup of melted butter (about 1/4 cup). Mix well.
6. Pour topping on top of potatoes.
7. Bake 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees.

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Tuesday Questionnaire

I snagged this survey from one of my favorite beauty gurus Amarixe.  I figured, why not?  Feel free to copy and fill it out yourself.  How is your week going so far? 

1.) Mood:

Tired and a bit lethargic.  Not my normal chipper self!  Happy thought?  Thanksgiving is next week!
(Mmm stuffing)

2.) What is the last song/album you purchased?

Taylor Swift's Red.  It is amaaaaaaaaaazing :)  I'm particularly fond of #9 (it's just happy!), #12, #13, #14 and of course my favorite from the whole album, #16 :)  What can I say, that girl knows how to write!  

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3.) The best video game system ever is __________.

Erm... not a gamer.  The last time I played video games loyally I was quite young so probably the Sega Genesis :)  I played Sonic & X-Men quite a bit.

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4.) Current nail polish:

Revlon Mistletoe.  It's a beautiful dark green.  The green/gold sheen is very subtle.  It reminds me a lot of OPI's lucerne-tainly look marvelous but in green.

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5.) How many times did you hit the snooze button this morning? 

Honestly way too many... I need to utilize that app I downloaded that forces me to do math problems in order to snooze.  But seriously, I have a snooze button problem.  

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6.) Current outfit:

Pink, plaid jammies and a t-shirt. It's almost bed time!  

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7.) What is the furthest distance you've ever driven?

On my own, completely by myself?  Just to the Twin Cities and back.  I'm a road wimp and hate driving :)  

(I only do this at stoplights)

8.) You can only use one mascara for the rest of your life-- which one is it?!

Ooh this is tough!  I guess I would have to go with Maybelline The Falsies.  It's not my favorite for bottom lashes but I love it for dramatic upper lashes.  I mentioned it in my favorite drugstore staples post here.

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9.) If you could have a $1000 gift card to anywhere right now, where would you choose?

Hmm I would probably choose a place like Home Goods or some other home decor place.  We are (most likely) going to begin building our first home in the next few months so my mind is more focused on that kind of stuff right now :)


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10.) Weekly Goals:

Ooh I need to finish making my list for Thanksgiving dinner (I'm in charge of it this year - eek!).  I also need to continue my current organization project. My next area to tackle for this is probably my overflowing jewelry armoire :)  

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~Christi

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

Yesterday was Halloween and I am sure many of you had little (or huge in our case) pumpkins out front that looked something like this:

Hopefully, you were a little more creative cutting yours then we were! I am not a fan of wasting food, so this morning I got up and began to cook down our pumpkins. (See Pumpkin Pie From Real Pumpkins blog for more details on how to do this.)

After an hour of baking I ended up with a pumpkin mess like this. Poor little girl. (Yes, my pumpkin was a girl, those are eyelashes above not eyebrows.)

 I scraped out all the soft pumpkin meat.

Processed it in the food processor. 

I have enough pumpkin to last a lifetime right now, so I came up with this little idea for breakfast and made it this morning for the men in my life (my husband and Aiden).

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

To make this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

2 tablespoons of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of ginger

1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves

1 teaspoon of nutmeg

1 loaf of french bread

1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese (softened)

1 cup (almost) of pumpkin puree (divided really into 1/2 cup and 1/3 cup)

1/4 and 2 tablespoons of sugar

1 egg

1 cup of milk

To start, you need some pumpkin pie spice. This can be made by mixing cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, and nutmeg together. 

In a mixing bowl, combine softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice, and 1/4 cup of sugar.  

Mix until smooth.

Take your french loaf and cut it into 3 inch pieces. In each piece, cut the center out to create a "pocket" for the cream cheese mixture.

Using a small spoon stuff each piece with the mixture. (I imagine this could be done the night before and left in the refrigerator overnight.)

Next you will need to make your french toast batter. Combine 1 egg, 1 cup of milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1/3 cups of pumpkin puree and 1 tablespoon of pumpkin mix into a shallow dish.

Whisk together. Also at this time, put your skillet on the stove with some butter or oil in it and heat over medium heat until it is hot.

Let the dipping begin!! Dip each piece of french toast in the batter. I like to let mine soak it up a little.

Place each piece in your skillet and cook until golden on the side that is down.

Flip the toast over and cook on the other side until done. The center filling should be warm.

You are done! Serve it dusted with some powered sugar or covered in maple syrup and ENJOY!!

Nothing says fall like this Pumpkin Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast!

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Baby 2.0: Being A Mother Of Two Children

It's been officially one month since we brought home our second child Remy. It feels strange, because I can honestly say that it hasn't felt like it's been a month. Things have been going pretty good, but you can tell by my lack of blogging that I have been a little busy. With that said, I have been pretty good about responding to the random emails I get from a number of friends asking many questions--- such as "How are you doing?" "Are you getting sleep?" "Are you going insane yet?" and more along those lines. I love the concern that my friends have and thought I would write a blog about the most common question of all,  "What's it like having two kids?"  Well here it goes....

The Second Is Easier
I know this one is a HUGE statement to start out this blog, but I really feel (and might regret) saying that so far having a second child is easier. I say this because you aren't as jumpy or as clueless of a parent the second time around. I remember when we first had Aiden and any little noise he made would send me running over to the bassinet. You aren't familiar with nursing (which I can say now I have had two kids, Aiden was SUPER hard to nurse) and you just aren't accustom to all the other things that come with a baby (burping, diapers, crying, and lack of sleep.) With the second one, it's just like a repeat, especially if you are like me and can remember doing it with the first one not very long ago. Now, I should also say that God has blessed me with not one, but two calm babies with quiet cries-- who enjoy sleeping.  This could change any minute with her and I might regret writing these words because she is only a month old, but so far she has been an easy baby to have.

The Balancing Act

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It's somewhat of a balancing act to have a 2 year old and a 1 month old. As an only child your toddler is use to you praising every little accomplishment, laughing at all the silly things they do, and comforting every little noise of frustration they might make. When the second child comes along, it's hard to be there to "reaffirm" every little action he or she makes. Between lack of sleep, nursing a newborn, changing multiple diapers daily, and trying to maintain your household it becomes very hard to notice every little movement the first child makes and give them the praise you use to. They notice this and it's hard for them to understand. I know it's very hard it is for him to comprehend having a sibling this at this age, so I try to make my best effort to give him my undivided attention between all the other activities going on around the house. Even if it's yelling "Good job buddy!" all the way across the house, he hears me and notices that I am noticing him.

Super Powers

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With the second child comes a type of parenting super power you never wished you had so much with the first--- the ability to not just protect one child, but now two children. It sounds easy enough, but you never realize until you bring home child number 2 that you might have to protect them from child number 1, especially a toddler! My toddler is all boy....loud, hyper, rough, and dirty. With the new baby around, I have to make sure he understands he can't be so rough with her and it's very difficult for him to understand. The other day I turned my back for a second and he was trying to shove a bottle into her mouth. (It was seriously a second-- I walked 5 feet from the table to the kitchen.) He has a habit of shoving a stuff in her face and yelling "THANK YOU BROTHER" as he things he is being helpful. Although you can't really grow eyes in the back of your head (which would be nice), I now have to learn to scan the room for any "harmful scenarios" that could take place between a toddler and a baby. He is learning not to be as rough with her, but he still has to be reminded once in a while.


Enjoy The Moments

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In all the not so fun times of adding a second baby, it's important to remember to enjoy the moments with your kiddos especially in hard times. I found at first I was becoming very frustrated with having two kids. It gets overwhelming to change 7 "stinky" diapers in 2 hours or have your toddler mimic the cry of the baby at the same time to get attention. Not to mention the hormone fluctuations that come with just having a baby. Life can be hard adjusting to two kids and I found myself yelling more and honestly most of the yelling was directed at my toddler. Not screaming or anything like that, but just yelling "No" or "Timeout" louder. Let's face it, toddlers do naughty things because they don't know any better and they are learning. I had to stop and remind myself that at this moment-- the moment when I have a 2 year old and a 1 month old-- will never happen again! This is the only time in my life when my kids will be this age. I don't want to feel like all I do is yell at my kids. I don't want my toddler to learn yelling is the way to handle stress. I don't want the baby to grow up only knowing a mother who yells. It's important to realize that these "hard time" are not really hard. They are uncomfortable moments, but will for sure make good memories some day. It's important to keep my cool, control my emotions, and speak in a normal voice for the benefit of all of us.


Ask For Help

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This one is a given. With the second child, you have less time to get things done like you use to so asking for help needs to be done. I don't think I have every had a problem asking for help when I have needed to. I am one of those people that speaks their feelings, so asking for help just comes naturally to me. I have no problem asking my Mom to watch the kids or the husband to vacuum the living room, but I have now found a new resource of help--- my toddler. Toddlers LOVE to help out with anything they can and I take full advantage of it! Aiden enjoys getting the burp rag, throwing the diapers away, getting my water bottle, unloading the dishwasher, and even burping his sister (which he has learned to do gently.) It makes me happy (and sad) to see how much he is no longer by baby but a helpful little boy that LOVES to help his Mama out!

Well that is how being mother of two has been going for me. Times aren't perfect always, but we are learning as each day goes by...and WOW is time flying by! I can't believe it's already been a month! 

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Learning How to Say "No"

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One would think that saying "no" is just a natural thing. I'm sure parents will tell you it's all they hear their kids say some days. But somewhere along the line I forgot how important it can be to invoke the two-letter word and more importantly how to recognize when I've had enough. 

With the end of grad school and my burgeoning excitement about the excess of time I would have to do things, I was quickly reminded of a topic that many women struggle with. Learning to say no. 

As you all know, when school came to an end my mind was racing with wonderful, dreamy ideas about how I would spend my free time (see the list here). So far I haven’t actually accomplished very much on that list (ha) but I did do a great job of overwhelming myself and committing to too many obligations. Why do we do this to ourselves? …Seriously?! 

Last week I found myself in the middle of a freak out because I forgot just how important it is to have “me time.” I volunteered for too many activities that required a lot of time and all of the sudden I was feeling stressed again. The activities became a chore I dreaded instead of a volunteer experience that I looked forward to. I knew deep down that these activities shouldn't feel like such a burden. I also had to acknowledge that as much as I love socializing I have to have my alone time as well. Some people don’t need this, but I do. Without I feel stretched out and all over the place. 

So on one hand I was sitting there feeling completely overwhelmed and in the next breath extremely guilty at the thought of dropping one of the commitments. While I was stressing over this one night, Nathan simply sat and rationalized with me about my options and tried to make me feel better about what I knew I needed to do. I went to bed with a clear conscience.

However, the next morning I woke up and had this random desire to get involved in the Big Sister program. “I would be an awesome big sister!” I thought. “I always wanted a little sister and this would be a great use of my time.” (Face Palm). Once I realized what I was doing I shook my head and remembered my breakthrough from the night before. It would be foolish to fall into the same predicament once again. Upon telling one of my friends about this she smiled and said, “You caught the do-gooder trait.” We talked a little bit about why women and mothers in particular so often find themselves in this predicament. Is it just a part of our DNA? Perhaps we are just naturally inclined to do more and serve others. It’s not a bad trait to have but it is just as important to have the power to say “no” 

So after dropping an activity (and deciding it would be wise not to pick up another) I am happy to report I feel much more peaceful and relaxed. It may be human nature as a wife and/or mother to want to volunteer for everything and overextend ourselves. But the reality is if we don't take care of our priorities first then we can't truly serve others. 

Have you ever found yourself in this predicament before? Maybe it's time for you to start practicing "no" as well... :)

~Christi

Cleaning Queen Tip #2: Cleaning Stains From White Carpets

This post is dedicated to our mother, the cleaning queen. As long as we can remember, our Mom has always had some crazy cleaning tips that work like magic! To this day, we still bring over our laundry to have her get a spot out or ask her for tips on those hard to clean items. She always has a recommendation that works 99% of the time. We thought it would be nice to share some of her genius cleaning tips periodically. Thanks Mom for all you have done for us over the years!

Today's' Tip:
Cleaning Stains From White Carpets

Back in April, I was working one morning and my son was playing so quietly beside me.

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 I should have known something was wrong, that is when I turned to see this:

Yep, that is maple syrup he is drinking out of the jug and that lovely maple syrup stain has been on my carpet forever! I have tried to scrub it out with various carpet cleaning chemicals, but it just has stayed there.

It's a little lighter than the original, but still there.  

One day I was complaining to my Mom about how bad our carpet looks and that I can't seem to get this stain out and another (where I spilled an entire cup of coffee.) She told me to try vinegar and baking soda. 

I thought, "What the heck!" At least we will have fun watching the chemicals react. So I sprinkled some baking soda on the stain. 

And poured some vinegar over the top.  

 We had a little floor volcano that was fun to watch. (My son loved watching it.)

And then I scrubbed it in with a brush. (I alternated with my son, who finds scrubbing stains out of carpet super fun.)

My Mom told me to put a white towel over the spot and let it dry. (White, so the color of your towel will not bleed onto your carpet.) 

After letting it dry, vacuum up the remaining baking soda. And the stain is MAGICALLY gone!!

The only bad part is now I have a white spot on the carpet where I cleaned it! It just shows you how bad these carpets need to be professionally cleaned. I am sure we will track on it enough to blend in with the rest soon enough! Also, not sure if this will work on colored carpet, so I am just giving you a warning to maybe stick with white carpet only. 

Do you have any awesome cleaning tips you would like to share? If so, comment below. We would love to hear any ideas to make cleaning easier!