Baby Love

Thank goodness it's Friday and schools out!  Yippee!  I'm SO looking forward to no schedule and lazy summer days.  I still can't believe next week is the 4th....and summer for us has already began with rainy days.  Please sun...come out and STAY!  Enjoy your weekend.  We are busy with birthdays.  Two of my boys birthdays are this weekend.  And we begin next week with a birthday party for Lucas.  Remember his superhero birthday party from last year?  Well, I'm incorporating a lot of the superhero party decorations for his 5th birthday party.  Saves time and money.  Here are a few pictures of my baby and the constant attention she gets.  Too cute.  Love that girl.

Also...have you seen Lady Gaga's new album cover!  Crazy and bizarre! 
And are you planning to see this movie this weekend?  We've been waiting for two years for it's release so we are SO excited for it.
And one last thing...are you watching the Bachelorette?  Please someone shoot me if Ashley says Bentley one last time.  What does it take for a girl to get over it?

Strawberry Jam + Free Labels

Last week I made 18 jars of strawberry jam.  Anyone want to buy one?  Seriously...it's a lot of jam.  But they are best gifts to give away.  So, you can make your own strawberry jam!  It's really easy and we are right in the heart of the strawberry season. When making strawberries into jam I like to use a freezer jam recipe because it preserves the vibrant redish pink color of the strawberries.  If you do a cooked jam recipe, the strawberries change to a dark red.  Not as pretty.  So here's my Mom's yummy freezer jam recipe. 

Freezer Strawberry Jam

6 3/4 cups crushed strawberries (I like to blend mine)
1/2 cup frozen white grape juice concentrate
1/2 cup water
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 cups sugar
1-1.5 cups ultra gel

Before I go on into the instructions, I want to give you a briefing on ultra gel.  This product can be bought through Carnet Foods.  It's a food thickener that is really easy to use and remains stable.  You can actually double your recipe and it will thicken, unlike pectin.  And you don't have to wait until it sets; it thickens right there.  You slowly stir the gel in until desired consistency.

Instructions
Combine crushed strawberries, juice concentrate, water, lemon juice and sugar until it dissolves.  Gradually stir in ultra gel (1 tablespoon at a time).  Allow to stand 10 minutes to thicken.  Add more if desired.  Pour into containers, label and freeze.

And here is the FREE DOWNLOAD STRAWBERRY JAM LABELS to make your jars look pretty and ready to give away.  Enjoy!

School's Out for Summer...Almost

We are almost done with June and my oldest is still in school.  Can you believe it?  Next week is 4th of July weekend.  I always think of 4th as the middle of summer, but for my kids it's the beginning of summer.  The reason is because we are making up snow days from the brutal winter we had out on the East Coast.  It's not been fun especially when all you want to do on the hot days is go swimming instead of being bound to a school schedule.  So I'm finishing up a jam-packed school week of end-of-the year parties.  And we are all looking forward to hanging up the backpacks until next year.

 

Last-Minute Father's Day

Father's Day is Sunday and here are some last-minute, do-it-at home ideas.  I'm going to have each of my kids fill out an "All About My Dad" questionaire.  I was hoping to have it completed to show you, but I'm kind-of a last minute gal.  But it should be pretty funny; I love hearing kids' answers about things like that.


1.Dad's favorite food labels
2.Picture of child with a list of his favorites to give to Dad
3.Hand-colored Father's Day Card
4.Father's Day food flags
5.Folded Shirt Card
6. Snack Mix Label

  

Strawberry Picking

Yesterday was the perfect day to go strawberry picking.  Temperature was in the low 80's with a cool breeze.  School in our neck of the woods is still in session so the crowd was minimal.  And the strawberries were a perfect red, and taste like candy.  I must admit that picking strawberries is not my favorite amongst berry picking.  You've got to get down on your knees.  The ground is wet and muddy, and with a 6 month old in tow...there was a lot of crying.  But in about an hour we picked 16lbs of strawberries!  I've got my work load of jamming and freezing and baking.  But it's so worth it.

Strawberry shortcakes--an after dinner treat

Baby Food

Baby food was introduced to Chloe's diet last week.  I like to hold off until six months and then keep it bland for a while.  Since she hangs out with us at the table during dinner, she's been interested in food for a while.  So it wasn't surprising that she picked up on it quickly.  To keep cost down, my goal is to make my own baby food for the most part.  And with my vegetable garden growing, I'm hoping it won't be too hard.  Here's what's on the menu. 



all images by me



Six Months

six months old my baby of mine...

She makes my heart leap every time I get to snuggle her and breathe her sweet baby smell.  Having a baby girl around has been quite fun since having two boys back to back.  Six months is when all the really cute clothes come out especially the summer dresses.  It's been fun pulling out old baby clothes I dressed Stella in and reminiscing when she was a baby. 

Chloe has been a complete delight in our family and we can't imagine life without her.  She's the cherry on top.  Her personality is coming out with babbles and giggles and lots of curiosity of the world around her.  And she said "mama" the other day...but I'm thinking it was just her sounds.  She loves her siblings and wants to be around them all the time.  Rolling and rolling around the floor is her favorite past time.  Not quite sitting up but getting there.  And she's got her first tooth coming in.

  

Chloe is wearing Hartstring vintage sailor

Challenging Yourself

To strengthen my body and get back the muscle mass that I lost when I was pregnant, I've been trying to challenge my body by doing exercises that I've never done before.  I've still got those stubborn 10 lbs to lose, and I'm hoping that doing something new will shake my body up.  So I signed up for some classes at my gym and weekly I've been going to Pilates Reformer and TRX Suspension.  Pilates has been great because the moves make you focus on the "inner" stomach muscles while keeping your tailbone in and back a line.  It helps stabilize those deep muscle tissues that you didn't know exist.  Perfect for post pregnancy.  TRX Suspension has been a great way to strengthen and tone without bulking up.  You use suspensions to work against your own body weight.  It's tough.  One of the things I like is it helps with balance, which always gets out of whack when I get pregnant.  Hopefully I'll start seeing results.

Via Shape

   

Summer List

Have you made your summer list yet?  Schools almost out and it means keeping my kiddos occupied, while having fun of course.  This summer list from Whatever pretty much sums up what we'll be doing this summer.  I'd like to add to the list:  beach, shell hunting, yard sale, making sand castles, pool, learn tennis, midnight walks, music in the park, garden, fruit picking, Brooklyn flea market, early morning runs...just to name a few.  What's on your summer list?

via say yes via whatever

Steal the Look

I don't know how she does it, but Jen Ainston always looks so beautiful with minimal effort.  A little makeup, simple dress, sunkissed hair and everyday jewelry like the wishbone necklace she is wearing.  You can steal her look with my Wishbone necklace--satin finish 24K gold vermeil or sterling silver.  Only $22.

Savage Beauty

For date night, we went to Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty exhibit at the MET (The Metropolitan Museum of Arts).  If you happen to be in NYC during the summer, the exhibit is a must see and more than just fashion.  It's theatrical art and you get a glimpse of his creative dark mind where he would get his inspiration.  The pieces are breathtaking, yet his aesthetic is very dark theming around death and tragedy.  His tailoring is impressive and the material his uses are completely unusual--clam shells, horsehair, duck feathers, medical slides, aluminium.  Each of his collections tells a story.  I like what Sarah Jessica Parker calls his clothes "ugly-beautiful".

all images by The Met

 

Our Weekend

Lillian August Tent Sale

 

Bronx Zoo

Date Night in the City with my some of my favorites

Kids making homemade movies

Chocolate covered treats

Memorial Weekend

Finally I'm getting around to posting about our Memorial Weekend. We spent the weekend up in the Berkshires, which is located in the western part of Massachusetts. The Berkshires is made up of picturesque towns with outdoor recreation and nestled in the Appalachian mountains. A little escape from 'burb living. We stayed at Jiminy Peak Resort, which has all the fun summertime mountain activities like alpine slide, mountain coaster and aerial adventure. My kids are getting older so big kid activities are more of an attraction than just a year ago. Lots of fun. My favorite part was getting up early and hiking up the ski resort's mountain. So peaceful and calm.

On the way home we stopped by the Massachusetts Veteran Memorial Tower and paid a little tribute to our veterans. The tower is located on Mount Greylock--the highest point in Mass. The view is expansive with lots of rolling green hills.

(Did you notice Stella's bandage on her forehead? She and her little brother decided to jump off stairs from complete boredom as we were packing up the car to head out. She jumped a few stairs then whacked her head on one of our radiators. Not a pretty sight and got nine stitches. Good times. Four hours later we were able to leave for our trip and she was right back to normal.)

Organic Baby Products

Here are a few of my favorite organic baby products. With my baby number 4, I'm trying to be more aware of what I put on her and feed her. I'm always checking the labels and doing research. And some products say they are organic but not completely, so it's always smart to double check the resource. What are some of your favorite organic baby products?
1.Nature Babycare Diapers. You can read the research I did on diapers here. We also use the GroVia Cloth diapers when we are at home.
2.Erba Organic Body Wash
3.Bloom Crib. I so want to get this since baby is still in a bassinett and our bedrooms are small. This crib is sized for urban living and can fold to store.
4.Micralite Stroller
5.Aden + Anais organic swaddle blanket
6. Sophie the Giraffe made with natural rubber and non toxic paint
7.Ella's Kitchen baby food
8.Baby's Only Organic Formula
9.Kate Quinn Organic bodysuits

Miniature Cupcakes

I walked past a Baked by Melissa cupcake shop when I was in the City last week. Tiny-bite size cupcakes--slightly bigger than the size of a quarter. We are talking really small cupcakes! And each one is frosted with toppings and some are stuffed. Tiny cupcakes are all the rave right now. Good if you want just a taste but not the post-dessert guilt.