Coffee Milk

The weather is changing to that lovely autumn weather here, and that just begs for a hot drink. Both of my kids love all sorts of hot drinks, even coffee, so we improvise a bit to make things more kid friendly (for them).

Not being big caffeine drinkers anyway, we keep decaf in the house (we drink ½ caff., but there is always 100% decaf available). The kids love the taste of coffee, but we’re not too keen on them having coffee as a drink. Thanks to many shopping visits to Trader Joe’s, the kids have become fond of “coffee milk”.

Coffee milk really is nothing more than a tiny bit of coffee (with whatever sweetener you desire) to a disproportionate amount of milk. At Trader Joe’s, I tend to do something like a 1:4 ratio of coffee to milk. Enough for the flavour, but also always a drinkable temperature for them.

At home, we use a Keurig with a refillable k-cup. I make a single cup of decaf coffee, split it between two mugs, and add milk. Since this is 100% decaf, I’ll do a 1:1 ratio. We also add stevia powder at home since they really don’t need a bunch of sugar. On the rare occasions they get sugar, we just stir that in before adding the milk so it dissolves better.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff is responsible for the content of this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.

A gift in our garden

Back in November, while we were un-gardening, I came across something that confused me. It was a cocoon of some sort, but unlike any I had ever seen. It was hidden among the vines from our green bean plants, and I almost didn't see it.

I grabbed the section of vine, broke it off, and put it in a mason jar.

It looked almost like something a wasp might build, but just didn't make sense to be a wasp. I searched the ever-so-knowledgeable Google, but found nothing.

I finally took to social media to find the answer, posting in a group that gardens. Lucky me, it turns out it was a cocoon made by a praying mantis! People pay to get mantis eggs (cocoons) because of how beneficial they are for gardens, and here I just stumbled across one!

One egg sack can contain up to 200 babies. Being carnivorous, these are a blessing for natural pest control in the garden! (Read more about mantis benefits and facts here.)

I now have this egg sack, in the above jar, in my refrigerator. I plan on waiting until planting season (when we have plants already coming up for cover/protection) to bring it out to hatch.

Here's hoping we have a couple survive and stick around this summer!

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff is responsible for all content in this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.

Thursday Tips: Autumn/Winter Garden Tilling

This might be common knowledge for some of you, but since not everyone knows this, I thought I'd share.

After the harvest season is complete and your garden becoming barren, you might want to consider tilling. While tilling at the season's end won't loosen the soil for you to plant the following season, it can help with the the decomposition of organic materials and also weeds and insects. Tilling just before a frost, while the ground is still workable, can expose roots to perennial weeds which lessens their survival chance through the winter. The same benefit happens from exposing bug larvae to the harsher winter elements.

For more information on autumn (or winter, depending on where you live!) tilling benefits, check out this informative article. It's an older article, but still useful.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post may contain affiliate links.

Earth's Best Seasonal Veggies Giveaway!

Enter to win some delicious seasonal veggies for your little one(s) from Earth's Best!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I receive sample(s) for the purpose of testing and review. These opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Thoughts Of Fluff is not responsible for shipment of the prize(s). 

Earth's Best Seasonal Veggies

Earth's Best is bringing some fantastic seasonal vegetables to help expand your baby's palate. Autumn is in the air, and nothing is better in the autumn than the delicious fruits and veggies that come into season!




Babies become pickier and more selective in their foods as they grow older, so it's always a good idea to introduce them to a variety of foods early in their solid-foods diet. (For more information, visit Earth’s Best website and check-out the article “Infants’Unpredictable Palates which discusses the natural progression of the tastes and interests of babies.)

Don't use jarred food with your little ones? That's okay, we did baby-led weaning with Bobble, so we understand! There are still great uses for these delicious little jars of food.... like adding the sweet potato jar in with some delicious macaroni and cheese, or using the bananas & strawberries jar to add to some muffins for flavour and moistness! There are many options for the yummy foods that Earth's Best offers!

So what are these awesome seasonal flavours that you can find? Earth's Best has created a variety of all-natural and organic products for your little one to enjoy, including:
1st Foods - Squash
1st Foods - Sweet Potato
2nd Vegetables-Carrots
2nd Vegetables- Green Beans and Rice

Check out the other Seasonal Harvest items (Earth's Best 2nd foods) for even more delicious foods for baby, and the other 2nd Vegetables that are available (like the winter squash)! Like the other Earth's Best organic products, these delicious seasonal veggies are made without the use of pesticides. Nothing like healthy foods grown organically!

Look for the seasonal flavours wherever Earth's Best  products are sold. You can find them at a grocer near you using the Earth’s Best Store Locator ! You can also enter my giveaway for a chance to win an assortment!

 Disclosure: I receive sample(s) for the purpose of testing and review. These opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Thoughts Of Fluff is not responsible for shipment of the prize(s).

Halloween

It is hard to believe that we are already nearing the holiday season. Halloween, being the first one of the bunch, is one I'm getting excited for. Bobble has a big head (heck, that's why I call him "Bobble"!!!), so I decided to go with something appropriate for that. I decided that him going as Charlie Brown would be rather appropriate. Last year we had a cute little onesie that had a hood and was a fuzzy material. He was a little frog. This year would take a bit more effort, but it will be fun none-the-less.

I found a great yellowish-orange polo for the outfit at The Children's Place, and I plan on putting black electrical tape on the shirt to make the zig. This way the shirt will be useable later on and not have a huge black mark across it. I will have to apply the "zig" while Bobble isn't around, however, as I don't want him to know that it can come off if he pulls on it!

We already have brown shoes for him, so the shoes are covered! I don't know if I will get yellow socks or not since he will likely be wearing pants instead of shorts. Speaking of pants, I did a few searches on Google to see what sort of bottoms I should get him. I was looking for black shorts initially, but then I noticed that Charlie Brown wears long black pants when it's colder out. Considering we live near the Great Lakes, it's not exactly going to be shorts weather when Halloween rolls around. Luckily for me, plain black pants are easy to find. I'm not certain we will be able to find a hat for him, but I'm okay with that. He's likely going to be inside the entire evening anyway. I also won't probably find a jacket for him (nor would I really look), but he'll have the shirt.

So, there you have it! Already planning our costume for our little Bobble! I think he'll fit the part just fine. Speaking of that, you have nothing to go off of with how big his head is.... so I figured I'd include a picture of him for you here. Granted this picture is from May and not the most recent, it's still a picture of Bobble. I would like to state that he is growing into his head slowly, so little by little it doesn't appear AS big, but still.

Without further ado..... Bobble! (don't mind the extra arms behind him.... that's a playmate! No, he doesn't have 4 arms!)

Now I know that he may seem a bit young for trick-or-treating, but I assure you he's not trick-or-treating. He was invited to a little Halloween party, and so we will attend that and let him enjoy playing with other little kids. I don't want him having those sweets. In fact, I don't know if I like the idea of trick-or-treating at all (in the future). I'm not opposed to people dressing up and having fun, but I dislike all the garbage (read: junk food) thought. I have been thinking that I'd rather start some little family traditions each year for various holidays instead of conforming to the "societal norm".

For example, for Halloween I could hold a little party for him and some friends when he's older.... but while he's younger (at least until he asks for something more), I thought it would be fun to watch a Halloween-themed movie, bake pumpkin cookies/pie/bread/whatever he wants, and build some sort of themed decoration that could be used for autumn in general. Maybe we can make leaves via finger paints and hand prints and hang them up, or any other number of craft ideas. When it's all said and done, I'll be happy if he's content sipping apple cider (or hot chocolate if he prefers), baking something with mom (maybe making caramel apples!), and watching a movie. The memories will be worth it so much more than having him out collecting candy I don't want him eating (and, actually, don't like even buying for handing out!).