Pregnant during the holidays!!!

Hello it is time for my Sunday Preggo Post (that is what I am calling it these days).
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! I had a fabulous time with the Family!!! After Thanksgiving comes Christmas.. I will be 2 weeks away from my due date during Christmas so I am getting everything ready now. I obviously have all of the children in my life covered with Fair Trade gifts from Monkey Beanz. There goes this months check!!!

For the adults in my life I am giving out baskets filled with homemade goodies. I have started to prepare now since I am sure I will not be in the mood in a few weeks. Here is some of the things our baskets will consist of...

1. My special pumpkin bread in a jar dessert (sorry I don't have a picture to share)
    You can use any pumpkin bread recipe you can find. This is my favorite http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Downeast-Maine-Pumpkin-Bread/Detail.aspx i just add a handfull or 2 of chocolate chips.
The next step is to put about a 1/2 of the mix into a jar, I like to use 12 oz jars. Put them on a cookie sheet and carefully put them in the oven.. (that is 350 degrees) I would love to give you an exact bake time but honestly I usually just throw them in and keep my eye on them, I believe it is around 15 Minutes. When they come out put the lid on and it will seal shut. I am putting this in the basket with these intrustions
" Heat up in microwave for 30 seconds. Put a scoop of Vanilla ice cream in the jar then drizzle with Caramel and sprinkle with pecans.. ENJOY"

2. Another really cool thing we are putting in the basket is hot drink mixes. I found some christmas themed bags to use for this. In the baggie I make up different combos that will make yummy hot drinks. Here is one of my favorites.
Chocolate Mint Coffee Mix
In the bag put 2 T. plus 2 tsp. sugar
2 T. Instant coffee granules
2 T. Powdered coffee creamer
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa
1 peppermint candy, crushed into fine pieces
Then attach a gift tag with these directions:
To make one serving
1 1/2 T of mix
6 oz. boiling water
Whipped cream (optional)
Place the mix in a mug. pour boiling water over the mix until dissolved. Garnish with whipped cream.

Those are just a few things that we are putting in our baskets. It will feel so good to put so much love into each thing we make for our friends and family. Here is to a stress free holiday!!!
Peace love and cookies
NyKi

7 months and Counting

Happy Monday everyone. Can you all belive I am 32 weeks pregnant!! Just 2 more months to go.
This so far has been such a great experience (well most of it). I am so excited about the idea of being a mom. I also know how fantastic of a father my husband Nick is going to be. He already is!!!

So on my mind this past week has been parenting, what morals will we teach Lily or Spencer?  Clearly I am very much a supporter of Fair Trade. It will be important to me for my children to understand that not everyone lives like we do. There is so much poverty and struggle out there, not that we are rich by any means but in comparison to some cultures we absolutly are. This is why Fair Trade IS so important, it is really us doing our part to make sure we are not supporting sweat shops. Obviously it is going to happen without us even being aware of it. I am so excited that I have great toys for my children that I absolutly know are fair trade..well because I work for the company that pays the wages!!!!!
So there is my weekly fair trade rant!!! Help to support fair trade, even if it is just one cup of coffee or preferably an item from us... !!!!
Thank you all for listening.. peace love and fair trade
NYki
P.S. The crib sets are coming soon!!!

What? We should play with our own kids???

I'm sure many of you heard about the controversy over Disney's Baby Einstein series and their claim that the series will make your baby smarter.  Unlike those of you in touch with the outside world, I actually had not heard about it until I listened to the story on NPR's Talk of the Nation last week. 

I was absolutely speechless (well, not exactly but that gets the message across in a much more polite way!) listening to the topic being debated.  I am also quite sure that the talented Neil Conan shared my opinions as host of the show.  Poor man, I felt bad that he was not able to speak to the idiotic claims and parents feeling the need to make their baby smarter in the first place.

Now, I know that tv and video games have taken over for many kids in the US (I'm not that naive) but is there really such a large portion of mainstream American parents that do not realize that plopping your baby/toddler/preschooler/child in front of the tv for these videos is not going to aid in their healthy development as much as actually playing and interacting with your own children?!

I am not anti-tv at all - I've been known to put on some Olivia or Charlie and Lola so I can make dinner or get some e-mails out.  I just find it a bit unnerving that playing with your kids is not commonly recognized, and practiced, as the healthiest way to promote normal development.  And out of curiosity, why is it exactly that we are trying to "make our babies smarter?"  Are we claiming that we were all not particularly smart babies and are trying to make up for our own loss of infant intelligence?  I can double check my facts, but I'm pretty sure babies have been developing just fine around the world for quite a number of years and we have managed to churn out some pretty smart people out there. Enough of my rant ... get off the computer and go play with your kids.  I will if you will.

For some fun ways to play with your kids and encourage some fun in the house, check out the Monkey Beanz fair trade soft drum set and fair trade soft tool set or the always popular fair trade counting book.  No guarantees on IQ boosts but I bet you and your kids will have a good time together and, I'm no expert, but I'd say that is pretty important to raising a smart, healthy family.