Oscar-inspired

Hope everyone had a lovely Oscar night!
We enjoyed the company of our favorite socialite friends and the talk of best (and worst) dressed.
My favorite part.

While perusing around crewcuts this morning I had to chuckle at the resemblance of the red carpet dresses and a few comfy cozies from their spring line.

Maybe not entirely...but here are my oscar-inspired finds.

all images from here and here

Friday Funnies - Oscar

photo

Oscar: Dad, I want to be a grown up
Dad: Why do you want to be a grown up?
Oscar: So I can be a race car driver
Dad: You should eat broccoli then
Oscar: Does broccoli help me grow up?
Dad: Yes
Oscar: I think I like being a kid for now

Oh Oscar, you crack me up.

Happy Friday!

If you'd like to share your funny with us, e-mail them to thechildrenscornerblog@gmail.com

Cooking with Flavor

Jenny Stegall has traveled all around the world and back again with her little family.  I love her appreciation for the little things in life, especially food. Jenny had a catering company in San Francisco and worked as a personal chef before having three precious children. She now uses her skills, time, and energy to feed them, create with them, and make traditions with them. I also love Jenny's theory for cooking with flavor for her kids. She so kindly offered to let me share with you these ideas she wrote up for Bloesem {and a recipe!}. Here's what Jenny has to say...

"I like healthy food for kids, but I am not concerned with the occasional birthday cake, movie popcorn, or candy. All kids will reject some tastes and textures, but after a while, most flavors will grow on them. I don’t follow the no salt, no sugar, no butter rule for kids. If I am roasting vegetables for my kids, I make them taste good- a little (!!) olive oil, a little (!!) kosher salt, etc. I want food bursting with flavor and believe they do too. There are some easy foods to introduce flavors to kids. Don’t start by putting a bowl full of roasted beets in front of them; they might sit there until they get married. Instead, make some yummy Israeli couscous and start adding flavors to it one at a time: shallots, herbs, tomatoes, or beets, pine nuts, and feta cheese. Some other great dishes that are easy to introduce (not hide!!!) flavors in are:  rice salads, couscous, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, salads, and a personal favorite- pancakes. When my babies can eat small bites, I start making pancakes filled with grated vegetables- beets, zucchini, squash, carrots, etc. They end up being mostly vegetables with just the batter to hold them together. They love the batter/bread and without realizing it, are becoming aware of flavors that they will later enjoy in a more adult version.

We visited the San Francisco farmer’s market this morning with our kids. The food from the farmers makes me want to stay in my kitchen for weeks. It is also fun because the kids see the pride and beauty in the many stands of fresh, organic produce. If you find yourself with some extra root vegetables, try some of these yummy pancakes! Keep experimenting with flavors. I think you will be pleased with the results."

What you will need: ( I never measure these, but these measurements will get you started)
1 cups Grated Vegetables or Fruits (carrots, zucchini, beet root, apples)
 1 cup Flour
1 Egg
1 _ cup Milk
1 tsp Baking powder

To do: 
1.) Mix all ingredients
2.) Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat
3.) Coat with cooking spray or a small amount of oil or butter
4.) Drop by spoonfuls or _ cup heaps
5.) When bubbles appear on top, flip and finish cooking until golden in color
*These are great to take as snacks or on road-trips. They also freeze well. If they eat enough of these… 

Bibbity bobbity boo

I'm loving all the stylish bibs these days. Here is a rundown of my etsy favorites. I'm always a sucker for anything handmade!

 

Coriander in pink                   Amy Butler                      Big flower                        Count me in
Bandana bib                          Turquois Bird                   Sea Life                           Blue daisy chain
Spotted owl                           Sunset                             Green glasses                  Scooter applique

Happy little lemons                 Reversible pink                Berry Village Path           Cheetah Flowers

DIY - Baby food

I am a firm believer that you don't have to sacrifice flavor when eating healthy.

Now, I also know that our little ones have to be introduced to flavor slowly.

Very little salt. Not too sweet. No nuts. No dairy. And all that makes sense! You don’t want to go ruining their virgin taste buds or anything, but it still seems like your first introduction to food should be a good one.

Have you ever opened a can of store bought green beans? They wreak. No wonder our little ones make those faces.

Another problem with store bought baby food is it doesn't even taste like the real deal.

After I started making my own baby food I felt so much more comfortable knowing exactly what my kiddo was eating - he liked it more too. I like to think that the reason he loves peas and carrots now are because he was getting what he eats now in the beginning.

Here were our favorites:

Peas and Zucchini
Baked Apple and Carrots with cinnamon
Baked Apple and Sweet Potatoes with cinnamon
Potatos with a few herbs
Avocado
Bananas with a drop of OJ

Now, when I first started my little guy on solids I thought, how in the world do moms have TIME to make baby food?

Let me just tell you...it probably takes more effort going to the grocery store to buy food than it does to make it. You can probably make 1 month worth of baby food in two hours.

There are so, so many ways to make your own baby food, but this is how I've done it.

1. Clean Veggies/Fruit thoroughly.
2. Cook  - I saute the zucchini, boil the potatoes/peas/beans, and bake the apples. This is when I add the herbs or cinnamon. One trick I learned was to cook the veggies with homemade broth. {Recipe here}This made a HUGE difference (in my opinion).
3. Puree in a blender untill smooth

That's it. You're done.

I stored my baby food in recycled jars and ice trays.

I got all my recipes from my sisters and this site here
I did a little research on these sites here, here, here and here
photo from here

Good luck friends! Let me know if you have any questions....not like I'm a pro or anything...but you know, about how I did it.

We have a winner!

Friday Funnies - Asher and Frankie

Our next funny comes from a beautiful friend of mine, Erin. She is the mother of three, smart,  hilarious and most definitely a hero of mine.

Frankie: (singing) I am a child of God, and He has sent me here; Has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way. Teach me all that I LOVE YOU...

Asher: No! Teach me all that I'M A STEW...

Frankie: (skeptically) No...

Asher: Yeah, stew. It's like a soup.



Frankie: (shrugs) Teach me all that I'm a stew, to live with Him someday.

Actual lyrics: Teach me all that I MUST DO, to live with Him someday.

photos from Ashley Thalman Photography

2 in 1 Dancin' shoes

How fun would it be to own a pair of these ruby slippers?

Too fun. I want them!

Calling all Boden lovers!

Ginormous clearance sale at nordstrom rack right now on mini boden. I picked up 7 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, and PJ's for $53! It was won-der-ful!

A Giveaway!! - BlaBla Kids backpack

My oh my... look at what we have here! You guys know how much I love BlaBla kids?....Well, a lot! That is why I am just tickled pink to annouce our fun little giveaway today!

One lucky reader will recieve this BlaBla kids backpack, and can I just say I want it for myself? Heres what you need to do to enter this giveaway:

-Become a follower
-Or, if you are already a follower, Blog, FB or Tweet this giveaway on thechildrenscornerblog.blogspot.com
-Come back to this post and tell us who'd look just darling in this doggy dog pack.

Good luck friends, I'm so excited for you!

An awareness story - Evelyn

"It all began a couple years ago when Evelyn fell down the steps in our home. She landed on her arm and then stopped using it. We assumed she had hurt it from the fall and took her to the ER. There they assured us that it was a small fracture, put a splint on her, and sent us home with a referral to an Orthopedist. In the meantime I noticed that Evy had a slight limp in her right leg.. the same side as her hurt arm. I remember laughing with a friend and saying that my poor baby was falling apart.


We went to the Orthopedist a few days later and he said it was not a fracture. He could not explain why she wasn't using her fingers at all, and didn't question it. Looking back there were signs that this was neurological and not simply a physical injury from a fall. I even asked him about her ankle and he said that toddlers can't sprain their ankles... and still he didn't question what was wrong. Instead, he sent us home and said that if she did not use her arm in three weeks to come back.

A few days passed.. we had a Halloween party and the normally socialite-esque Evelyn wanted a nap right after her friends arrived. She went right down and slept through much of the Halloween fun. Warning bells rang in our minds. This was not our Evy! She was still not using her arm. No wiggling of fingers. Just a dangling limb. Scary stuff. So we went to the pediatrician. We mentioned the leg, showed her the arm, and she seemed perplexed. She ordered another x-ray and suggested we see a neurologist. I tried to make an appt. with the neurologist the next day and between two offices I was only able to make an appointment for February and then December. Increasingly frustrated, we decided to do more the following day since it was five o'clock.

That night, Brian took off Evy's clothes and diaper in preparation for pajama time and he called me in... Evy's leg was a backwards C- her knee was about 3 inches behind where it should have been. Clearly she had lost most use of it. Saying that I flipped out is an understatement, because this confirmed all of my previous intuition... that she had no fracture but that something else was wrong. Unfortunately we had to go to sleep that night with this big question mark looming while our sweet angel slept.

The next day we called the pediatrician and they soon told us to head to an ER for a full neurological exam. When we got there they sent me home with Stella to keep her from H1N1, which was rampant. I left just as she had been taken for her CT scan. I drove over an hour home with Stella and killed some time doing some work in the yard to quell my nerves. The phone rang and Brian broke the news- Evy had a brain tumor. I threw clothes into a suitcase and left with sweet Stella immediately, my heart breaking into a million pieces all the while.

Evy's brain tumor was on the left side, therefore affecting the right side of her body. It was at the top of her skull and the neurosurgeon has referred to it as "gigantic". (The size of a mango in diameter.) Parts of it were dangerously close to arteries. They suspected it had been growing since birth, but we now know that it only took 2-3 mos to grow. Surgery was scheduled for Friday morning and there was still hope that it was a benign tumor. The next day she had an MRI, which saddened the doctors because it showed that it was a much nastier tumor than first expected and was most surely malignant. On Thursday Evy's condition worsened. I was certain we were going to lose her soon. The oncologist told our neurosurgeon that emergency surgery must be performed. As with every other procedure, I held her in my arms in her crib as they wheeled us down to the OR. Through all of this I have kept my mood as light and positive as possible for Evy's sake as well as for my own. 


I laid her on the operating table and talked to her as they put her under. She only cried for about 10 seconds and then was out. They kept her sedated through the next morning when she underwent a post-op MRI of brain and spine. The news which resulted from this MRI was that he had gotten every single part of the tumor out, even those around arteries. She had suffered from a stroke at one point, either before or after surgery (I suspect it's what caused the fall.) Her spinal cord looked clear of tumors, but was not 100% because of the amount of blood in the cord from surgery that obscured the image.


After all was said and done, they found the diagnosis to be:


A rare type of brain tumor called an AT/RT. The survival rate is very low, but you know what? If anyone can beat this it is my dear gal. She has the power of a family who adores her and will do anything for her. She has a constant stream of cancer-fighting breastmilk at the ready... we will not give up hope that our little twin girls will grow up together happily... even if it means she endures a beyond difficult fight."


It has been almost a year and a half and little Evy is still fighting strong. She's been through 53 weeks of chemotherapy and is currently cancer free. There have been other complications from the chemo, but her family hopes and prays every day that their little Evy will keep fighting.  



Follow sweet Evelyn's story here. 

In the name of love

Happy lovey dovey day to all! Hope you are enjoying hugs and kisses from those precious little ones you call yours... and maybe a little more from the Mr?

Enjoy a few things pink and red that I'm loving today ...along with my two boys, of course.

paperwings jersey frill skirt

pink bilibo

grandpa tee

drifting wave swim suit

madras plaid bow

madison pea coat

pink ray ban

snap happy suit

green toys firetruck

pink boys sweater

diaper dynamo bag

groovy maracas

Friday Funnies - Seth

I received this darling story in my inbox last week... just when I needed it most. Here is a conversation between Seth and his sweet mommy Amy.


Seth: "Mommy, I want you to read me a book before I go to bed."

Mommy:  "Okay honey, you pick it out for me."

Seth brings his Mommy "The Cat in the Hat" and sits down with him to read it. Mommy gets through about five pages of the story when Seth asks, "Mommy, how come you don't taste the pages like my teacher Mrs. Cunningham does before she turns them?" 


Ohh they're precious, aren't they?


Happy Friday!


if you'd like to share you're funny with us, e-mail them to me at thechildrenscornerblog@gmail.com

DIY - Party Hats

So quick and easy and adds a lot of fun to your sweet little one's birthday bash!

Materials needed: 
12 X 12 scrapbook paper – 1 sheet per hat 
1 cone hat for reference 
1 roll crepe paper 
Double-sided tape
Elastic cord

Tools needed: 
Pencil Scissors 
Sewing machine

Steps: 
Trace outline of premade hat scrapbook hat and cut out. 
Apply double sided tape to one short edge of the hat and fold to create cone. 
Cut strip of elastic cord for chin strap and tape on the inside of the hat. 
To create fringe: cut 3 -15” strips of crepe paper.
Layer them and sew a seam down the middle. 
Fold crepe paper in half and cut to create fringe – being careful to not cut the seam. 
Apply double sided tape to the bottom of the hat and attach fringe. 
Apply hat to child and voila, it party time! 

{tutorial by Michele Wimborough of Cakewalk Baking}
{photography by sherry heck}

What to Wear- birthday party attire

Sending your little one off to a birthday bash? Here are a few outfit ideas we've put together so you can send them off in style. Let us know what you think. Would your kids wear these?

1. Purple Rouched Sweater
2. Lyon Tee
3. Printed Skirt
4. Primigi Jelly Ballet Flats 

1. Cashmere hat
2. Cotton cardigan
3. Stripe pocket T
4. Destructed jeans
5. Chuck Taylor 3 Strap

A Birthday Party Feature - Emerson

What a party! Rebecca, the mother of sweet Emerson, has thought of every last detail to make her little one-year-old's party a birthday to remember.

Begin swooning...now.

Don't you just love the milk jugs and pinwheels?
All the sweets came from The Caketress
The darling stationary from Love the Design
A pinwheel tutorial here
Jugs found here

Winner, winner chicken dinner!

Stay tuned for another very exciting giveaway next week! For a little sneak peek..go here   

Friday Funnies - Grace

Our next funny comes from this gorgeous Grace who recently had a visit from the tooth fairy herself. 


"One day, after my daughter had lost her first tooth, we had ordered pizza. The pizza delivery man was missing some teeth. My little girl pointed at him and said, "Look, Mommy! He lost some of his baby teeth, too!" The man quickly handed me the pizza and left. I felt sorry for the man, but I smiled and hugged my daughter warmly."


Happy Friday!
If you'd like to publish your funny moment please e-mail them to me at thechildrenscornerblog@gmail.com
photos by darlingart

EmersonMade ONSIES!!!

I know, I know. So stinkin' cute! When I had this little bit of news in my inbox from sweet Emerson herself, I about died. No joke. Can I please borrow someone's infant to buy this for and hold/squeeze/love? Good news for me they have kids sizes too. Ages 1-3. Few!

 Check out the whole collection of EM onsies here. I'm thinkin' this may be the beginning of the beginning of EMkids? {Yes, I said that twice.}

And, can I just tell you...I absolutely love when clothiers I heart come out with a mini version. It gives you twice the reason to shop there, right? Right.

Stay tuned for more mini versions of shops we love. I know you'll just love em too.

A Giveaway! - Aden & Anias Swaddling Wraps

Remember this post? Well, as you can imagine, I am thrilled to announce that our first giveaway at The Children's Corner is this set of 3 Aden & Anias Bamboo swaddling wraps. Ahhh, I know. Exciting for me too! Even if you don't have a little one to swaddle, these make the best gifts ever. Seriosuly....they are my salvation!

So, here's the deal. All you have to do is become a follower of our little bloggy blog and leave a comment telling me how badly you want these wraps. Trust me, you want them bad :) The winner will be announced Monday. Oh..and for an additional entry, tweet or FB this giveaway and leave a comment telling us you did. Thanks friends!

P.S. Stop by tomorrow for the most amazing news of the week. You will die!

A Baby Shower Feature - It's a girl!

Here is a darling "Classic School" baby shower put on by the talented Sara Westbrook. Her sister-in-law is a kindergarten teacher and was expecting a baby girl. Very appropriate theme don'tcha think?

One lucky mama is all I have to say. Check out these photos! 

See more of the shower here. There are even free printables, y'all