Comments for a Cause - Caring Pregnancy Center

One of my favorite things about starting a new month is that I get to introduce a new cause to my readers.  Before I talk about April's cause, let's talk March numbers.  Last month I had 43 comments, creating a donation of $21.50 to the Children's Tumor Foundation, in honor of my late friend Amy.  I'm so happy to support a cause that was so near to her heart.

In the month of April I'm happy to not only support, but also bring awareness to the Caring Pregnancy Center of Mason City's Community Baby Shower by donating $0.50 for every comment on my blog during the month.

I feel very blessed to be able to provide all basic needs for my family - food, clothing, shelter and love.  But I realize that not all children are that fortunate.  Each year in North Iowa, many babies are born into poverty.  There are also many women who receive late or no prenatal care, many times resulting in babies that are pre-term or have a low birth weight.  The Caring Pregnancy Center helps these moms and children through various programs, such as their Baby Bucks Program.

The first annual Community Baby Shower helps the Baby Bucks Program and is happening today, April 1st through May 2nd.  The Baby Bucks incentive program is a way for at-risk mothers and other mothers to earn essential baby items by going to doctors appointments, taking parenting classes, having and keeping a job, breastfeeding, etc.  These supplies and support programs give both moms and children help needed for a healthy beginning and early childhood needs.

Jo Hafermann, executive director of Mason City's Caring Pregnancy Center, says they are looking for the following items:  diapers (all sizes besides size 1), pull-ups, wipes, baby acetaminophen, baby cereal, bottles, bottle liners, bottle brushes, formula, teething medicine, baby toys, bibs, baby shampoo, baby powder, baby lotion, baby bath wash and shampoo, baby clothes through size 5T and onesies.  They are also in need of furniture items:  new cribs, pack-n-plays, strollers, high chairs and new car seats.  All furniture items must be new or up to current safety standards, clean and in great working conditions.

You can make a difference by hosting your own "Baby Shower" item drive with friends or co-workers, or donate money towards the purchase of supplies.  You can drop off your Baby Shower gifts at the Caring Pregnancy Center at 830 15th St SW in Mason City during scheduled hours or by coming to the Community Baby Shower on Saturday, May 2nd from 9-11am at the Willow Brook Mall in Mason City.  For more information on the Community Baby Shower service project you can contact Jo Hafermann at 641.424.2237 or jhafermann@cpcmasoncity.org.

You can also make a difference by commenting on any post blog post all month.  If you were to host a Baby Shower, who would you invite?  What would you bring as a gift?  What is your favorite Baby Shower game?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

How to celebrate a BIRTHday as a family

Today JP turns one month old!  Part of me thinks "Wow! She's already a month old!", while the other part of me feels like she has been part of our family forever.  To celebrate her being a month old today, I thought I'd share how we celebrate BIRTHdays in our family.

It is the big day - your baby is born!  Family comes to visit, friends send their congratulations, and all you can think of and care about is that little baby you hold in your arms...  I wish it was that simple!  As a Mom of more than one child you not only are cherishing everything about your new bundle of joy, but you're also worried about your other baby or babies at home.  Are all the kids going to get along?  Is there going to be jealousy?  How is adding one more going to change our family dynamics?  To help decrease any of these anxieties, our family celebrates the new baby's BIRTHday in three simple ways:

Sibling Gifts:  Big Brother and Big Sister gifts can be as big or little as you like.  First, we (Mom & Dad) always give the new sibling(s) a big brother/sister shirt they can wear at the hospital.  Second, the new baby gives the older sibling(s) a gift the first day at the hospital.  We always tell our kids that the baby feels so lucky to have them as their older sibling that they brought them a gift.  The sibling gift starts with a special bag (when MP was born our son LP received a John Deere backpack he'd been eyeing for a couple of months, and this time when JP was born both kids got personalized Cinch Sacks).  The great thing about these bags is that they are reusable and can not only store all of their things at the hospital, but wherever and everywhere after the baby is home.  Inside the bag we include a new book, activities (such as coloring/sketch books, games, cards) to do at the hospital, and snacks for the hospital.  Both LP and MP really enjoyed their cameras in their bags from JP.  We got LP a disposable camera (which he actually did take a few good photos) and MP a play camera.

Share Family Photos:  Make sure to bring a family photo or a photo of your older child(ren) to the hospital to display.  This way your older child(ren) know that this is a special time for your entire family.  We have always put a photo of the older sibling(s) in the baby's hospital bed.  We tell them that that baby loves looking at their photo, and that all of their nurses and doctors know that they are the baby's big brother/sister.

Throw a BIRTHday Party:  What kid doesn't like a birthday party, especially if they get to help plan it?  On the first full day in the hospital we have a BIRTHday party complete with cake and ice cream picked out by the older sibling(s).  The morning of the first full day My Farmer takes the kid(s) shopping for a going home outfit for the baby, a cake and ice cream (and sometimes whatever else they deem necessary while out shopping...).  We tell all of our visiting family that cake and ice cream will be served all day to celebrate and the older sibling(s) are the host(ess) of the party.  They welcome everyone to the party and get the special role of introducing their new baby sibling to guests.  Be sure to sing Happy Birthday too!

Those are three simple ways we celebrate the arrival of a new family member.  What are some things your family has done?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Our Farm is Growing!

My Farmer and I have been making plans to grow our farm over the past several years and today, I'm proud to announce that over the last 23 weeks we've been incubating a very special genetic variety that we can't wait to see how it yields around January 2nd.

Did I confuse you or do you get how we're growing our farm?

My Farmer and I are expecting our third child this winter!  This pregnancy has been so much fun and we love how excited the kids (mainly LP but MP is excited too - mainly because LP is...) are.  LP gives the baby a kiss and hug daily and already has big plans to build a snowman with MP and the baby this winter.

To answer questions you might be having:

• We didn't find out the gender and will be "surprised", just like we did with our previous two pregnancies.
• LP wants another baby sister but he tells everyone that God is the one who chooses if we have a boy or a girl.
• For a couple of months we will have three kids ages 3 and under.
• And even though that seems very close, because of the kids' birthdays they'll be every other year in school.
• I have been feeling very well this pregnancy and hope/plan for that to continue the rest of the time.

Baby Bump 23 Weeks

And now I need your help.  What should our nickname for this baby be?  Our son's nickname during the pregnancy and continues today on the blog is LP (standing for Little-Our Last Name) and our daughter's nickname is MP (standing for Mini-Our Last Name).  Now we don't have to keep up with _P for a nickname but that is possible if we hear some good ideas.  I just want to give the baby something else to call it other than, "the baby".  So leave your ideas down below in the comment section and remember to Comment for a Cause!

Celebrate with Homemade Ice Cream

I love how food can make us think of special memories and traditions, and in our family, one food that is tied to pretty much every celebration is Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.  I thought this would be perfect to share today as part of one of my blogger friends, Ally's, virtual baby shower.  Ally blogs at Ally's Sweet and Savory Eats where she shares lots of simple and delicious recipes.  She is expecting her third child in mid-May, and Yudith at Blissfully Delicious and Steph at Been There, Baked That thought it'd be great if some fellow Iowa Food Bloggers put together some recipes for a virtual baby shower for Ally.

Besides Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream being a classic celebration food for my family, I also think it is a must have for every pregnant woman and a perfect treat at a baby shower.  (Plus I know Ally has been craving sweets during this pregnancy!)

Before I share my recipe, I need to clue you into my top two tips to make perfect Homemade Ice Cream:

1. You have to use a good quality vanilla.  I feel like you can never go wrong with Watkins Vanilla.
2. You need to use a classic, 4 qt. or 6 qt., electric ice cream maker like this one.  In my opinion, the older, the better.  I actually use a hand me down ice cream maker from my in-laws that they got at the beginning of their marriage.

Alright, done with the tips, now to dive into a delicious bowl of Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (that is after about 30-40 minutes of letting your ice cream maker turn!)

4 eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp vanilla
1 quart half & half
1/2 gallon whole milk

Whisk eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla and half & half together.  Pour into canister.  Then pour whole milk up to fill line.  Put canister into ice cream bucket with ice and ice cream salt around canister and let run 30-40 minutes until thick and smooth.  Enjoy at your next celebration!

Congratulations early to Ally and be sure to check out the rest of the virtual baby shower recipes by checking out both Yudith and Steph's host pages.  Michelle at Simplify, Live, Love, Kierstan at Life in Iowa, Jenny at In The Kitchen with Jenny and Jenni at Jenni Eats are also all participating in today's virtual baby shower.

When you think about planning a baby shower, what foods would you include?  Remember to Comment for  Cause!

5 Simple Ways to Make Bath Time Fun

Life with a toddler and a baby is always full of adventure - check last week's Wordless Wednesday post to see just how much fun we've been having lately...  Anyways, I got to thinking the other day about some simple things I do during Bath Time to continue the fun for both LP and MP.  Here are five simple ways to make bath time fun:

• Sing while you soap up:  I have made up little dittys that I sing while applying shampoo and soap on the kids.  They both love it and LP even sings along.  If you don't feel comfortable making up your own song, sing classic kid songs like "Wheels on the Bus", "You Are My Sunshine" or "Old MacDonald" while the kids are getting soaped up!
• Tickle:  You need to be careful while doing it but why limit tickling to dry land only.
• Read a book:  Most bath times at our house take place right before bedtime, so to help with the winding down process before bed, I'll read them a book while they play in the tub.
• Let their imagination run wild:  LP's imagination is amazing and bath time is a perfect environment for him to discover open seas in his boat or pretend he's a fish in the ocean.
• Play with toys:  Some of my kids' favorite bath toys include cups, bowls, and a strainer.  And that is why it was so much fun to add Nuby's Splish Splash Stacking Cups to our bath time toy collection.

Both LP and MP love Nuby's Splish Splash Stacking Cups.  They are recommended for children 9 months and older, and like I said, both my 9 month old daughter and 3 year old son enjoy them.  There are five cups in the set and each cup has holes in it like a strainer, which creates a waterfall effect.  LP loved racing cups against each other seeing which one would empty first and MP loved running her hands through the waterfalls trying to catch the water.  Another added bonus to the cups is that they come in a variety of colors and each ascending size has a different number assigned to it, 1-5, so you can teach counting and numbers, colors and shapes with toddlers.  The cups also stack two different ways which is great for teaching coordination.

If you are interested in getting your own set of Nuby Splish Splash Stacking Cups check out these retailers:

• Amazon.com
• BuyBabyDirect.com
• buybuy Baby
• Bed Bath & Beyond
• Diapers.com
• eChildStore.com
• BabyEarth.com

To learn more about Nuby, get connected through their various channels of social media:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram

Also, be sure to check out my other Nuby bath time review on their Tear Free Rinse Pail.

What do you do to make Bath Time fun at your house?

Remember to Comment for a Cause!

19 Weeks - Corn, Beans, Pig & KIDS

When I started this blog over a year ago I decided to call it "Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids" because that is what we raise on our farm and it just has a nice flow to it.  "Corn, Soybeans, Pigs & Kid" just didn't seem to have the same ring to it.  And My Farmer and I often, if not always, introduce ourselves as farmers from North Central Iowa who raise corn, beans, pigs and kids.  Now we have been caught a time or two having to explain the kids part since we only have one, but now I'm officially excited to announce we are expecting a second child on June 6th, so we officially will being raising KIDS on the farm!

Now I had hinted at that we were expecting another child in my New Year Resolutions, but I figured today, at 19 weeks, I'd make an official announcement that MP (Mini-Plagge) will be arriving this spring.

The best picture MP would give us yesterday at my ultrasound

So what does it mean being pregnant with your second child when your first is a busy toddler?

• Well, it means when you're tired and just want to take a nap, you can't just take one anytime you wanted to, like with the first pregnancy.  You have to wait till nap time or bed time, which I have to admit, I've thought about changing slightly just so I could lay on the couch.  I found out I was pregnant in September and actually kept the pregnancy a secret most of harvest.  Now this was hard at times because harvest can just be tiring to begin with, add going through your first trimester and you can imagine how tired I was at the end of the day (or in the middle day as the sun was really beating down through the tractor windshield)!
• My Farmer has always told me that I plan too much, but I figure planning for arrival of MP won't hurt anyone right?  Well, arrival of MP makes me think of how much, or shall I say how little, "free" time I'll have with two kids in the house?  I also wonder how well LP will do with MP?  I know he'll be a big helper but I also am aware he might be confused or jealous.  Having two kids in the house also make me wonder how well I'll be able to divide my focus, energy and love towards both of them?  Along those lines, I think how hard it is sometimes for just My Farmer and I to go out and have time just to ourselves now, let alone with another child.
• Now at the same time, I am so excited for LP to have a sibling.  I have two sisters and I wouldn't trade growing up with them for anything in the world.  We are all each others best friends and my parents often tell us stories of when we were younger of how we almost had our own language and I remember the countless games we played, just the three of us.  Earlier I mentioned how I think about how well I'll do dividing up my focus, energy and love towards both kids, but the great thing for MP, they'll have not just Mom and Dad to get attention from, they'll have an older brother that'll give them attention too!

So, yeah, I guess that is what this mother is thinking at 19 weeks.  We are almost half way through the pregnancy and we're all excited for MP to arrive!  Do any of you have any advice for a soon to be family of four?