Crocheted baby hats for donations

I love to knit and crochet. I do both on a regular basis, doing one or the other almost daily. I make things for my children. I make things for myself. I make things for friends who are having babies. I make things to donate. It is something I do to keep myself awake in the evening.

One of the things I make a lot of is baby hats. I like to donate them to the local hospital for the new babies. They always need more hats, so I enjoy taking them a large bag of new hats every now and again. Since I am expecting again, I figured I would have a bag of hats to take with me when I go to deliver my baby (as I did with my last child) so they have more on hand. It was nice when I did this last time as it turned out they did not have any baby boy hats (except those I had just brought to them), so my son got a hat I had made and donated. Here's my start for an August baby.

I needed something quick and easy to make so I can make several during naps and evenings. I have so many projects going at all times I need some of them to be quick ones or the projects take forever to finish. I searched for different ideas, and found this one as well as this one on Pinterest. (Yes, I am definitely on Pinterest a lot for different ideas for many things.) I decided to make something similar as my donation hat. I don't follow a pattern per se, other than what I have found works easily for me for my purpose, though these are definitely where I drew my inspiration.

This is my crocheting bag. I also do small knitting projects out of this bag as I have many colors of yarn inside, but this is what I go to for these hats. I can fit several colors of yarn inside (my favorite for these hats is currently Caron Simply Soft yarn) and the outside pockets are great for all the other necessities or the hat in progress if I have to pause for a while. Yes, it is a Zip Top Organizing Utility Tote from Thirty One (they are perfect for so many things and since I sell 31, of course I use what I sell).

Here is a hat after my increasing rounds. At this point, I just do my last rounds as is, without increasing any further.

Here is a finished hat. I like to add a stripe of a different color just to give the hats a little something fun without going too crazy. This keeps it simple while giving it a little extra.

I make different sizes to take since babies are not all born with the same size head. I make extra small hats for those born early, or twins, since they tend to have smaller heads and the newborn size would be too big. I make a small and a medium size as well (small for newborn size and medium for those babies who are born a little larger - say 10 lb babies). The hats are stretchy, but this gives a little more options for the nurses.

Night terrors

The most recent adventure we have begun with our toddler is night terrors. This is made even more fun with a 5 month old baby sleeping in the room right next door. Talk about sleepless nights on so many levels!!

Sleep terrors are horrible to experience as a parent. There is nothing you can do to help your child in the midst of the terror. You have to sit back and watch it all unfold before your eyes. Watch your child scream from fear. Watch your child shaking from fear. Watch your child crying and wanting to be consoled without actually being able to be consoled. Wondering when it will all be over and you can finally comfort your poor baby.

While they say these are not a cause for concern, try telling that to a parent in the midst of an episode while their little one is screaming and there is nothing you can do. Talk about feeling like the worst parent in the world! Then there is the "calming" words to let parents know not to worry, your child will most likely outgrow this in adolescent years. That is reassuring when the terrors start before age 3. Sure, my child will outgrow this, but it will probably be part of your life for the next 10+ years. That means for all of youth!

That makes regular childhood fun difficult. Sleepovers will probably be rare, and if they do occur, they will have to be at our house so we are there to watch over and help the friend(s) understand what is happening. Does that mean after the friend(s) experience the night terror for the first time, that will be the last time they want to attend a sleepover? Will we have to expect this from all our children as they tend to run in families? Is there something I have done as a mother/parent that has caused this to happen to my poor innocent child? So many questions run through my head and I am not sure I will ever have the answers, or at least as many answers as I feel I need.

Magnetic dress up dolls "spruced up"

Little Miss C got some new toys for Christmas that I decided to spruce up a bit. She got some magnetic dress up dolls that I wanted to make even more fun.

C loves Doc McStuffins and really likes Sofia from Disney. She ended up getting this Doc doll 

and this Sofia doll for Christmas. 

She also got this Cindarella magnetic play set.

I had to make the backgrounds more fun and last longer, so here is why I did:

I laminated the background photos that came with each set. They were just paper and I wanted them to last.

I used magnetic photo paper from the crafting section of Walmart and put it on the back of each of the small pages from the Cindarella activity set. This way they are also magnetic to hold the pieces on.

Then I used a small strip of the left overs on the backs of the ones from Doc and Sofia. I can 'hang' the rooms on a metal cookie sheet so it stays on the cookie sheet and can lean upright against a chair, couch, wherever. Then there is also more magnetic surface for the pieces to stick to, making it even more fun.

 

This works wonderfully at home and makes it better for car trips so pieces don't fall everywhere.

Bisquick S'mores cookies

I love baking. I love cookies (and yes, cookie dough). I am currently pregnant and on light duty, meaning I am to sit with feet up whenever possible (especially while my 2 year old is napping in the afternoons). I also can't travel right now and am only to be out of the house for a short period of time. This leads to my boredom, and wanting even more to bake.

I decided yesterday I was going to try a recipe I found for cookies using Bisquick. I make my own homemade version of Bisquick, so I used this version. I also wanted to be able to eat some of the dough, so I made them without eggs, and added extra milk to make the cookies more moist. I love s'mores, and added a few ingredients to make the chocolate chip cookie recipe actually s'mores cookies.

These cookies turned out amazing! I loved the way they are so moist without having to leave them undercooked by a few minutes to maintain the softness. My husband said I was in trouble. Last week I made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (which he absolutely loved despite not being the biggest fan of the peanut butter and chocolate combination - crazy, I know), and then this week made these cookies. He said if I was not home he would eat the entire batch of cookies (either kind) in one day. This coming from someone who is okay with sweets but would choose cheese and crackers for a snack rather than sweets.

I changed the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe to be eggless as well (so I could have a little cookie dough of course). These will definitely be made over and over as will the S'mores cookies. 

Want the recipe I used? Leave me a comment asking for it. Let me know you want to try these for yourself. 

Making baby blankets

So we found out we are expecting a boy and there are very few options for blankets available locally right now. If there are any, they are mostly summer weight and we need winter weight.

I decided to just make a bunch of blankets after having made a few for our daughter and realizing how easy it is. I can choose what materials I want, what patterns I want, and what color combinations. I also made a carseat cover to help keep our littlest one warm this winter since he will be a late October baby.

Here are the blankets I made:

Carseat cover -

and blankets -

(Here they are all stacked nicely in my Thirty-One Perfect Fit Organizing bins. They will be stored nicely under the crib in these - and yes, I also sell Thirty-One.)

This is just a small soft square - a little Lovie blanket








This is a thinner, super soft blanket (one piece of material only) and I made one blue and one green.

Busy Bag activities for young children

Having a young child out at a restaurant or in church, one realizes there is a lot of "sitting" time where a young child requires something to maintain attention while waiting for food or the end of the church service. These bags are also great to just have in the car or diaper bag for backup for any reason.

I have searched many ideas on Pinterest and loved all the ideas. I am definitely not finished making bags for my little one (and future little ones), but here are the ones I have created so far. Many ideas came from different Pinterest pins on my board, so I will not really take credit for any of the ideas. I just wanted to show how I put my bags together in hopes it may help other parents.

I am open to other suggestions or any questions you may have.

COUNTING BEARS

These can be used for many different activities. Sort by color. Sort by size. Use to count. Use to make patterns. The possibilities are endless.

BEADING

Use shoestrings with a bead tied to the end so anything added will not fall off the other end. Then let your little one add beads. Do a pattern, do all one color, just bead. Whatever you want.

Use pipe cleaners instead for a little more stability for younger hands.

Use milkshake straws cut into smaller pieces (rather than colored uncooked noodles so they don't break so easy) instead of beads. Or provide both in the bag.




STACKING AND "POKING"

This bag contains a wood base with two holes drilled in to insert short pegs. There are small wooden spools for the child to stack on the pegs.

An old spice container can be used to "poke" short dowels into for fin motor skills.

POM-POMS AND "I-SPY"

Use a small container with a hole in the center of the lid to poke small pom-poms through. Great for fine motor skills. (I added a rubber grommet to prevent cut fingers) You can also do this for buttons (which I have since added to this bag)

Make a small "I-Spy" bag with rice and small buttons of different shapes styles. This one has different animals, shapes, etc inside.






STICKERS AND PAPER

Put different stickers inside with blank paper cut in half so it fits in the bag. Then your child can play with stickers wherever you are. The blank paper works for drawing or coloring as well, so again, multiple activities in one bag.

You can add colored pencils or crayons to the bag if you choose.







PLAY DOUGH "POKE"

Use regular or mini versions of PlayDough containers for this one. I took plastic cake-pop sticks and cut them into smaller pieces (sealing the ends with hot glue so nothing gets stuck inside). Then you just place the dough on a flat surface and let them "poke" the sticks in it. I got this idea from the local Child Development Center.








SORTING

I put pony beads in a snack sized ziplock bag and included a small plastic bottle with lid for little one to place beads into. The beads can also be put in the different ice cube trays shown.

The q-tips can be placed in the ice cube tray on the left as another type of sorting activity. I know you can get different colored q-tips if you want to sort by color, or just use one to let them just explore if they are really young. Just watch your child very close with this bag.





LEARNING COLORS

I have different colored buttons in a sorting container. There are colored wooden cubes in a zipped bag. I got paint color cards from the local Menards and put them on index cards, then used contact paper to laminate them. The disks just have colors on one side and numbers on the other. (They are wooden disks I glued paper to and covered with Mod Podge to protect.) I have also added cards which have one color with several pictures of objects of that color that I laminated.






COLORED FOAM

I took crafting foam and cut up different shapes in different colors. This helps with color as well as shapes. You can add cards with patterns for the child to follow to extend the activity. (See pattern cards in the next activity)

The popsicle craft sticks have foam glued to them for color also. You can create colored envelopes to place the sticks in or just use to learn colors.







POM-POM PAINTING

I glued small magnets to different sized craft pom-poms so they stick to the small magnetic white board and won't fall off. The cards are not finished (as I have not cut them up and laminated them yet), but they can be used to follow color patterns. You can also include pictures the child can "paint" with the pom-poms.









ANIMALS

I printed pictures of different animals, then glued them to colored card stock to make them sturdier. I "laminated" them with contact paper to preserve them. This bag has LOTS of different animal pictures to help little one learn animals or "play" as she wants. It keeps her busy for 30 minutes or more at a time.

Add words for the different animals for older children to match.






LETTERS

I used a label maker with magnetic label tape and made upper and lower case letters. This is more for older children (mine is not old enough quite yet) but the letters will not fall off a table/bench/lap using the magnetic white board or cookie sheet. This will help child learn letters, upper vs. lower case, and beginning spelling.









COLORING ROLL

 

I sewed this to hold large crayons, or longer colored pencils. Fold it in half for the crayons, or leave it long for the colored pencils. This just keeps them all together nicely rather than a mess in a bag or tattered box.

Cookie Dough Protein Dip

I love cookie dough! I have learned how to make it without eggs so it is actually safe to eat. They bake just fine, so this is how I have been making it for a couple years now. This is not the healthiest thing to eat, but it is delicious.

I wanted to create a dip for apples, grapes, pretzels, graham crackers, or whatever. I wanted it to be a little healthier as well as have more protein so it is good for pregnancy or breastfeeding. I made a recipe that can be altered to taste and is delicious. Plus, no flour!

So here goes:

Ingredients: 

4 Tbsp Jif Natural creamy peanut butter (or any flavor nut butter). (I have also used Biscoff

           Cookie Butter for this and it tastes even more like cookies)

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 container (7 oz) Philadelphia 2x Protein regular cream cheese
4 Tbsp Good Grains Flax Chia Blend Ready-to-eat (this can be omitted or you can use just flax seed,
           whatever)
1/2 cup old fashion oats - dry (can be omitted)
1/4 c mini chocolate chips (or nuts, raisins, dried fruit, mini m&ms, whatever)

Mix the peanut butter and brown sugar till creamy. Add vanilla. Stir in cream cheese till mixed well. Add powdered sugar and flax chia blend till incorporated. If adding oats, add now. Stir in chocolate chips (or other mix-ins).

Enjoy with fruit, graham crackers, pretzels, or simply eat with a spoon.

So how bad for you is this dip? Not as bad as you would think. Here is the nutrition information if using the above ingredients:

Servings: 12
Calories: 137                  Sodium: 68 mg
Total fat: 6 g                   Potassium: 77mg
  Sat: 2 g                          Total carb: 17 g
  Poly: 1 g                         Fiber: 1 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg             Sugar: 11 g
                                       Protein: 4 g
Vitamin A: 3%               Calcium: 6%
Vitamin C: 1%               Iron: 3%

Weekly Menu Board

I love having my week's menu posted so I remember what I planned, and my husband doesn't feel like he always has to ask me what we are having for dinner. He knows he can just look at the board and see what the week holds.

I made this board (though my husband just thinks I am "too organized" and this just proves it. For the board I found the magnetic "white" board at Walmart, bought some magnets and magnetic pencil holders, and then made the little cards to go with it.

I printed the meals on card stock, then covered them front and back with contact paper to protect them and prevent them from getting wet. I made the cards on an excel spreadsheet so I have them in nice rectangles to make them all the same size and so I can re-print them if I ever need to. As we try new meals and like them, I just add them to the spreadsheet and when I have a full sheet, print it off and add the new meals to the rotation.

This has helped me when it comes to planning as I can simply pull out seven cards and place them on the board if I am having a tough time thinking of what to make. (I tend to even start planning for the following week on the right side of the board because I pick too many meals I want.) At the end of the week, the meals are placed in the other bin so we are not having the same meal every week. Thanks to Pintrest, I have been adding meals like crazy as I find something new I want to try.

Cookie dough yogurt

Who doesn't like cookie dough? I love it! I stopped using eggs in my dough over a year ago simply so I could eat the dough while nursing (or pregnant, next time). So when I saw this recipe I thought I would give it a try. It will be a great pregnancy and nursing snack as the version I made (with some small changes to the original recipe) is high in protein and fiber.

I found the original recipe here (click on picture):

I made a few small changes when I made it, and loved it! I think I will try a few other changes and see how they go.

For my changes:

I used Chobani vanilla fat free yogurt

I used Biscoff European cookie spread rather than peanut butter

I added only about 1/8 tsp vanilla

I did not add any sweetener.

I plan to try adding about 1/8 cup to 1/4 cup dry oatmeal to make it like an oatmeal cookie dough and see how that goes next time.

P.S. My 20 month old daughter LOVED this also. A great snack to remember for the future to keep her eating healthier without feeling like she has to give up on taste.

High shine lip balm/gloss

I admit I have a problem. I LOVE lip balm/gloss. I use it several times a day. My husband laughs at me for how much I use it. I don't like lipstick, and chap-sticks just don't do the trick for me. I like the shine of the lip gloss, but most have too much color or are sticky/tacky.

About 5 years ago I found a lip gloss (actually called a balm) that I fell in love with. It was made by Victoria Secret, called Beauty Rush soothing lip balm.

 I used it all the time and had multiple at a time so I never went without. I would keep one in my bathroom, one in my living room, and one in my purse. And usually had a few unopened so I never ran out. Then last year I found out they stopped making my lip gloss. I was so sad because it was the best one I had used and never found anything similar. I have been looking, researching, and trying different glosses and balms since December 2012.





While shopping for Christmas this year, I went into Sephora looking once again (as the closest one to me is 5 hours away) after more research online. I talked with the sales associate and showed her what I was trying to replace. In a matter of minutes she showed me a couple options, but said she had one particular balm in mind. I tried it on my lips and immediately I realized I finally found the replacement. I am so happy I now have something I can purchase that has the same feeling and effect. I will now be using the Soap & Glory A Great Kisser as my lip balm. It has high shine with no sticky, tacky feeling. They have great scents to them, and only a very slight hint of color. I am so excited to have found a replacement!!

Snuggle Bunny

I had a project for a Christmas present for my daughter, but when I finished it, I couldn't wait to give it to her.

I found a cute pattern for a little blanket buddy in either a bunny or a lamb while at Hobby Lobby. I decided to make the bunny for my daughter, and altered the pattern slightly, but it turned out wonderfully.

I gave it to my daughter, and she has latched on to this soft, snuggly bunny. This is a pattern I will make sure to keep so I can make more if something happens to the one I already made. It will get worn out eventually and I will want to make another one.

Parenting - working through frustrations

As I am a first time mom, I am going through each stage for the first time. Things will be different for future children, and stages will prevent their own challenges, but at least by then I will have experienced something in each stage.

My daughter is currently 16 months old. We are testing the nap issues currently the most. She likes to lay awake and talk through nap time. It frustrates me as I know she needs her sleep and I know how it affects her later if she doesn't get her nap. I know a few days of missed naps means more work for me later to get rid of the fatigue that sets in quickly. Of course she does not understand this. She does not know why I work so hard to get her to actually sleep at nap time. Or why it is so frustrating to me when she fights it.  This is something I am working hard at to maintain my cool and not let my frustration out on her or where she really sees it. This is a work in progress.

Another fun part of this stage (though we are really only in the very beginning of this one) is the tantrums, especially in public.  Luckily, so far there have not been many public tantrums, but I most definitely am not wearing rose colored glasses with the belief that my child will never act out in public. That is a given for every child, no matter how well behaved they usually are. While there have not been many public breakdowns yet, I am sure I will get plenty of looks through the years when they do occur. I am of the mindset that the child has a breakdown and the parent does not fuel the fire by giving in. If in the grocery store and a child throws a fit because he/she wants something and was told no, the answer will stand and they can throw their fit till they give up. I will not give in but will follow through with what I said. Yes, I guarantee plenty of people will stare at me and wonder why I do not give in just to make my child quiet down. Or wonder why I don't just give up on the trip and try again later, leaving my cart and walking out. I will not give up or give in. If the child is screaming, he/she can have their fit. I would like to hope that after only a few of these fits, when they see I don't give in, they will take me at my word and the fits will slowly decrease and finally go away. It would be nice if it works that way, but I won't give up. People may stare if they wish. But I will follow through with what I told my child(ten) rather than giving in just to make them happy and quiet down for the sake of saving myself embarrassment while in public.

By following through, my children will learn I mean what I say. They will learn that I am the parent and what I say goes. They will not run my household because I allowed them to by letting them get their way all the time. Allowing children to have choices is fine. I will give my children two choices (both of which I am comfortable with) and they can decide from there. For example, if while shopping my child begs for a sugary cereal, I will give them two cereal options I am comfortable with and they can pick one of those. Or they can choose nothing. I will not give in to the sugary cereal they want that is not healthy for them just to avoid a tantrum and embarrassment on my part.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

 


So I have made my own taco seasoning twice now and love it! I feel healthier eating this than the stuff found in packets because there is no junk in this. Rachael Ray has been inspiring me to make more of my own things rather than doing the 'quick and easy' grabbing the pre-made things from the shelf at the store.

I found a couple different recipes for taco seasoning here and here. I somewhat combined these and came up with this version I have used. My husband has not noticed the difference (or if he has, he has not mentioned it) of my homemade stuff versus the pre-packaged kind.

Here is what I used:
3 Tbsp + 1 tsp Chili Powder
2 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp (overfilled, not level) or 1/2 Tbsp Paprika

When I use this in my beef, I add about 1/2 cup water to the beef and use about 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp of the mix. This seems to work out well for me. I am in high elevation, so I don't know if this would change for lower elevations or if some alterations need to be made.

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

I wanted to post this, though today was not the first time I have used this recipe. I ran into a problem a month or so ago when I needed cream of chicken soup for a recipe but didn't have any. I didn't want to run to the store, so I started searching for a solution. To be honest, I cannot remember where I found the recipe online, but I wrote it down and have it on hand. I have altered it some for my own use and still need to make more adjustments as I am in high altitude and all recipes have to be worked on a few times to get them right here.

The basic ingredients are:
3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 c milk
1/2 c chicken broth
salt/pepper to taste

* I also add other seasoning based on what I feel like that day. Usually it is a dash of onion salt/powder, and a dash of garlic powder/salt.

* I have been adjusting this some to thicken it up, and have been adding about 1 Tbsp cornstarch as well. I think I still need to add a little more and cook it longer, but it works out fine as is, it just isn't quite as thick as I would like.

So to make this, melt the butter on medium heat till melted, then whisk in the flour and cornstarch. Once this is bubbling, take it off the heat and add the milk and chicken broth (and any other spices) till mixed, returning to heat. Bring this mixture to a boil, stirring frequently until it thickens. That's it!

This is so easy to make, and uses ingredients almost always on hand at home. It is simple, without any extra junk. I like that I can make it at home and not have to worry about what I am feeding my family. I have used this in a cheesy, chicken and rice casserole I made when my parents came to town. I made it today to use in my recipe for beef stroganoff. It works well and tastes great. My parents didn't even notice any difference. My husband usually can tell when I change things up (like when I tried to use plain yogurt in place of sour cream), but he has not noticed this change either.

I love being able to make things for my family that are good for us and are budget friendly. Whether that is food or crafting, this is what I enjoy doing.

Flat plush toys (no stuffing)

So I decided I wanted a "stuffed animal" for my daughter to sleep with but don't want the stuffing. She loves sleeping with blankets to cuddle with, but they can get so hot in the summer months (as she likes the heavy, soft blankets and has to have at least 2). I don't want to fill her crib, so I want something that won't take a lot of room or cause breathing troubles. I also want to find a new "security" object for my daughter so when I eventually begin the transition away from the pacifier (which luckily she only uses when she sleeps, and will leave it in the crib when she wakes up), I have something for her to self-sooth with.

I started looking for something I could purchase, and found a few, but decided I could just make something quickly, at least for now, to see if my daughter even liked them. I found a tutorial to give me something to go on. Then I proceeded to create my pattern.

I chose to go with one continuous piece rather than separate arms and legs. I also wanted a longer body because I wanted it to be a little more blanket like and more to snuggle with.

Before I sewed around the edges, I embroidered a face on one side. Then I sewed the edges, leaving the bottom open to turn it right side out. After I did so, I hand sewed it closed.

I also made a bunny version (by simply making the ears longer) out of another fabric I had. I used left over fabric I had from making a blanket earlier.

Traveling with young children

So now that our first airplane trip with a child is over, how did it go? What went well? What would I do differently next time?

First thing first, our daughter is 14 months old, and she did great (as far as I am concerned) with her first flight. She slept through take off and just watched the landing on the way there. She struggled some on the way back, but we circled the airport for about 20 minutes, gaining and losing altitude as we waited out a tornado warning. This was hard on Little Miss's ears, and I could not have done anything else for her that I wasn't already doing. I was brokenhearted that her ears hurt her and I couldn't help, and also just didn't care if it was bothering others because she is so young I just figured others could deal with it. I didn't bother fretting about if others were upset or anything because all I wanted to do was try to console her as best I could until we landed and her ears could stop hurting.

As for the packing, and what I took with me, here goes:


Car Seat:
This is our car seat.

We decided to purchase the travel cart for our car seat to make it easier to transport it through the airport.

This purchase was one we would definitely recommend! It made it so much easier to take the car seat with us through the airport. We placed Little Miss in the car seat and wheeled her around in it. This made it much easier for us to transport everything we had with us. VERY glad we had this with us!

We took this head rest for when she falls asleep, so her head does not fall. This works wonders on car trips for us already.

This worked great on the trip as well. I knew I liked it for the car trips I have already used it for, and it worked great on the plane as well.

Carry-on bag & contents:
I purchased this Vera Bradley bag for my carry-on so I could take what I needed for Little Miss on top of what fit in her diaper bag. I was able to get it for about half price because I got it in a sale color.

This bag was WONDERFUL! It held everything I needed on the plane for Little Miss, plus my iPad and a few things for me. I will use this bag for future trips (car or plane) and whenever it wears out, I will purchase another one. I loved it!! (This picture only shows some of what I had packed in the bag, but it actually held more than just this.)

This bag held snacks, drinks, food, toys, books, and much more to keep little one occupied. I took the snacks, drinks, and food in her Tommee Tippee cups, food gear, and bib as this is our favorite. We also love the teethers from Tommee Tippee and took them with us. (This was great as she got another tooth on the trip home.)

 

 

 
I LOVE my Tommee Tippee products. They were amazing for this trip as well.

I took tethers for toys so they did not fall on the ground. These are wonderful! I also use a strap for her cups when in the stroller or in a highchair at a restaurant.

 

Yep, still love these tethers for the toys and drink cups. They were amazing at keeping things off the ground when Little Miss would get tired and drop something as she nodded off, or when she would get excited and drop something while reaching out for something else.

I found this brilliant idea on Pinterest and made a bracelet like it for my daughter for the trip. I made one with her name on it and another with my phone number. She wore both while we were traveling, just in case (though I don't even let her out of my sight at home -and hate even leaving her with family members for just an hour on rare occasions-, so I won't while traveling, but unplanned events do happen).

These were great on the way there as well as while we were in Hershey Park. The only problem I had was Little Miss is in the stage of taking things off her wrists and head when she gets hot, and the humidity made her miserable. She ended up taking the bracelets off and dropped them, but I didn't realize it till later that day and they are lost now. I guess I will be making new ones before our next trip.

I took a couple wet bags for wet clothing, a small ones for spoons, etc. I made a few large and one small, as well as an open wide bag which sits well to use for medications for little Miss.

     

These were great, as expected. The bag I used for medications worked perfectly at containing the small mess that occurred when the small bottle with baby wash in it leaked on the plane on the way there. I had placed plastic under the cap on all the bottles except that one, and that one is the only one that leaked. It stayed in the bag and did not get all over everything, so I would say the bag worked perfectly.

I made a small travel changing pad and a small wet bag to put it in with diapers, wipes, diaper cream, and hand sanitizer. This is now a part of my regular diaper bag and went with us on the trip.

I have seen the diaper changer stations that are all in one type changing pads. They look great, but didn't fit the diaper cream well for me. This bag holds the cream, wipes, diapers, hand sanitizer, changing pad, etc and does great for me. I am so glad I made this. It actually stays in the diaper bag full time, and I can just pull this small bag out and take it to the restroom for a change rather than taking the whole diaper bag. LOVE it!!

Pinterest also had great travel game ideas. Some of the ones I pinned are for older children and will be used on future trips, but some can be made for my daughter's age and I had these in the carry-on bag as well. Here is one I made adjustments to for her age by using pictures and such rather than letters.

Stroller:
I wanted a stroller, but didn't want to take our good stroller as I didn't want to risk it getting mangled in transport. Nothing against airlines, but they are moving so much stuff and are in such a hurry, sometimes things get mishandled in the rush and I didn't want our good one ruined. So we purchased this one. I like how the back can either be padded (and warmer) or have the mesh showing (thus keeping the baby cooler).

This stroller was wonderful. I liked having the mesh back for the hot, humid weather as it allowed more breathability for Little Miss. This helped her, since she was miserable in the humidity. We stepped outside and her head was covered in sweat in 1 minute. Poor girl! The only issue I had was it didn't lean back so when she fell asleep in this stroller her head fell forward. I had to tip the stroller onto only the back two wheels. But, that is why this is just the travel stroller, not our regular, every day use stroller.

I saw this stroller organizer for umbrella strollers since they do not have the fancy storage our regular stroller has. I made my own version of this for much cheaper and am pleased with how it turned out.

Here is my stroller organizer (made with special material I found at Hobby Lobby).

This stroller organizer helped us our and made it convenient for water cups, phone, etc. This worked exactly as I wanted it to. LOVED it!!

Front Carrier/Wrap:
I love my Boba wrap and so does my daughter. This has been one of our best purchases and can hold a child up to 35 pounds. We also found the Boba Air and ordered it so we could take that with us. We decided just to take the Boba Air on the trip. We absolutely love the wrap but the air folds smaller and is lighter for travel.

           

We ended up taking the Boba Air because it was lighter and took up less space than the wrap. I still much prefer the wrap, but for travel, the air worked like we wanted it to. Little Miss seems to prefer the wrap as well, so we probably won't use the air very often, but it was nice to have in case.

High Chair:
My brother and his wife do not have children, so they do not have a high chair at their house. I made two different types, and planned to take at least one of them with us. I have a simple one I use at my parents' house in the high chair they have in which my little one slides out without this. The other one fits on pretty much any chair. I somewhat followed a pattern for the pink version, but the blue version is one I created myself after seeing something like it on the internet. I didn't want to pay the full price, so I made my own pattern and created the blue version for myself.

 




I took the blue travel high chair for this trip. It was nice to have at my brother's house so we had a high chair there. It worked perfectly and I am so excited I figured out how to make it. It folds small and was exactly what we needed.

Travel bed:
Lets be honest. Taking a Pack & Play on a trip where we fly is not cost effective. Problem- Little Miss was 14 months old on this trip and needed a place to sleep on the trip. Solution- this portable sleep tent. There are several different versions, but this is the one we purchased.

Infant Portable Net Cradle bed

This sleep tent made me a little nervous at first. We used it for a couple weeks prior to the trip (placing it inside the actual crib) to get Little Miss used to it. She would take 2 hours to actually fall asleep, so I was worried how it would do on the trip. She ended up getting used to it, and it worked out well. The only issue I had is it does not seem like it will last very long. I wish I could have gotten the PeaPod version instead. I will keep watching for it and when it becomes available again, I will get one for future trips and future children.

I made cord keepers for phone, kindle, etc. to keep the chargers from getting tangled. (I made some for my husband as well - in blue - but he didn't actually use them until the way back.)

Other:

I used mesh bags to pack outfits for Little Miss:

 

The mesh bags I used (lingerie bags from Walmart) to separate Little Miss' clothes worked great! I loved having outfits already together and having a bag for laundry when it was dirty. This will be used again.

Food:
The dehydrated food from NurturMe did not go over so well. Little Miss did not like the texture or something about it and had a hard time eating when she had that food. I had to really coax her to eat it and even bribe her with every other bite as something else (bread, yogurt, something). I ended up making some baby food at my brother's house just so she would eat something. Maybe this is due to her just being used to the food I make rather than the NurturMe food, but she didn't really like it. It was a great idea, and may have been fine if she was used to it.