The Unfortunate Vaseline Incident

It all started when Nate decided that he wanted to take care of the kids' cradle cap. Personally, cradle cap doesn't bother me. Both kids have enough hair to cover it up and it comes and goes on its own. It bothers Nate though and he decided to take matters into his own hands. He'd heard that Vaseline can help. So, he lathered both scalps (and hair) with Vaseline.

After a bath with two hair washings, it was clear that the Vaseline is not an easy foe. We put the kids to bed with greasy heads and vowed to take up the fight in the morning. A morning bath turned into two hair washings with adult shampoo and two hair washings with dish soap. Much to our dismay, the Vaseline remained in Lila's hair. Benny's hair, on the other hand, cleared up with dish soap.

Lila got another bath after her nap with more dish soap. Still nothing. After that many attempts, it was clear that we didn't know what we were doing. I took to Facebook for advice. From the advice I gathered on Facebook, Dawn is the way to go with Vaseline. We didn't have any Dawn in the house, but we did have Joy. After two rounds of suds, Lila's hair is nominally better. She's not a complete grease ball now - only a partial grease ball. She is also completely opposed to having her hair washed now. After at least seven washings in the past 36 hours, she has a right to be a bit peeved.

Consequently, I also received some good advice about how to get rid of cradle cap - none of which included Vaseline!!!

1. Apply diluted tea tree oil directly to the scalp with a Q-tip and then use a comb to remove the cradle cap.
2. Apply baby oil directly to the scalp with a Q-tip and then use a comb to remove the cradle cap.
3. Apply coconut oil directly to the scalp with a Q-tip and then use a comb to remove the cradle cap.

Lesson learned: Used in moderation, oil will remove cradle cap (probably including Vaseline). Second lesson learned: Never, ever apply Vaseline to hair. Ever.

I'll be experimenting with the Dawn tonight. If that doesn't work, I guess I should be prepared to deal with greasy hair until Christmas or so...

Biking to a Baby Brunch

Fall has been spectacular this year. Today was no exception. With a high in the mid-60s, I couldn't help but bike to a baby brunch this morning. The only thing that would have made the ride better was a partner. But, I'm not going to complain.

The brunch was in honor of Jamie, the cutest pregnant woman I know! I prefer baby brunches to baby showers very much. Case in point: mimosas!

Congrats to Jamie!

Batman Lives

It took a whole village to make Benny's costume this year. I consulted the interweb for an appropriate model for Batman. Most of the costumes in stores are based off the new Batman movies. I decided to throw back to the Adam West model.

Plus, the grey, yellow and black seemed like they were the easiest to work with. I started with grey long johns. A mom from school mentioned that she had worked with felt and a hot glue gun for a costume and that seemed like the easiest route for a Batman logo. No sewing required! I traced the bat and cut out a yellow oval and black bat.

A friend kindly sent a black cape my way, but I wanted the logos on the shirt and the cape to match. My good friend Jen suggested that I make a cape out of a shirt. What? Could it really be that easy? It is! I followed these directions.

While the costume looked good, it wasn't very exciting. My neighbor mentioned that she put a light on her son's robot costume and I decided that Benny definitely needed a light on his belt. But, given my uncraftiness, I didn't know how to make that happen. I consulted with another neighbor who has a knack for constructing things. She had everything I needed to make a lighted belt! I used fun foam, leftover felt and a cheap battery-operated light (Benny added the sticker at his class party).

The light definitely made the costume. Benny rocked it!

Old-School Batman - What I Used

Grey long johns - from Hanes.com

Black boxer briefs - on super sale at Target

Felt squares (1 black, 1 yellow) - from Hobby Lobby

Batman mask - from Party City

Yellow fun foam - borrowed mine from a friend, but available at craft stores

Battery powered light - from Target

Hot glue gun - from Hobby Lobby

Men's large black shirt - used one of Nate's old shirts

Velcro - borrowed mine from a friend, but available at craft stores

Since I had over a month to make the costume, I gathered materials as needed. For example, one day I was at Goodwill and there was a Party City right next door. I decided to check it out to see if they carried Batman masks. Sure enough, they did. I made one special trip to Hobby Lobby. Otherwise I just looked for stuff while out and about. 

Lila's costume is a hand-me-down from Benny, which is a hand-me-down from a friend. Halloween wouldn't be the same without my friends helping out with costumes!

Butternut Squash Feast: Mac 'n Cheese and Muffins

Have you noticed a theme on the blog lately? Lots and lots of butternut squash going on up in here. Because I have butternut squash puree stocked in the freezer and fridge and butternut squash stored in the basement closet, I decided to incorporate it in our Halloween festivities. Turns out that butternut squash is a perfect compliment to macaroni and cheese.

Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese
(adapted from a recipe on Two Peas & Their Pod)

Ingredients

1 large box macaroni noodles
2 cups butternut squash puree
2 1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tbsp. chopped rosemary
1 cup aged white cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare macaroni noodles as directed on package, drain and set aside. In a small bowl stir 1/2 cup of milk into the butternut squash puree and set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Whisk in flour and nutmeg and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining milk and  simmer until the it thickens. Add butternut squash and milk mixture and cook for about 3 minutes.

Pour butternut squash mixture over noodles and stir. Grease a casserole pan and pour in half of the noodles. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese on top. Pour the remaining noodles in the casserole dish and top with cheese and bread crumbs.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Fresh from the garden/cellar: Butternut squash and rosemary.

Friends brought over apps and salads to add to the feast. We topped everything off with Butternut Squash, Chocolate Chip, Walnut Muffins. Sooo amazing! I would highly recommend that you run out and buy a butternut squash, roast it and make these muffins. STAT!

Butternut Squash, Chocolate Chip Walnut Muffins with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
(adapted from a recipe on Take Back Your Table)

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup butternut squash puree
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin pan.

Beat eggs in large bowl and add sugar, oil, applesauce and butternut squash puree. In a separate bowl combine and stir all of the dry ingredients - except the chocolate chips and walnuts. Stir wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Spoon into muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Check here for the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting recipe.

Spooktacular Celebration! (aka Halloween 2012)

Happy November! I can't believe we're starting the 11th month of this year. Boggles my mind.

Halloween was a success again this year. Benny is at the perfect age for Halloween - he picks out his own costume, trick or treats without our constant supervision and generally has a great time. Lila is a little trickier. She loved her costume, but was in a pretty foul mood for Halloween. She refused to put her candy in her bag and preferred to carry it in both hands - along with a sippy cup of milk.She also refused to have her picture taken. She'll "get it" next year.

We continued the tradition of trick or treating with friends and neighbors and then gathering for a Halloween dinner. The kids had plenty of energy from all the candy they inhaled during the night. It's been fun to continue this tradition. The first year (2009), we just had two little boys dressed as Dumbo and a monkey. Then we had two little boys and a baby. Last year, there were six kids in the mix (from the original two!). Our neighbors moved with their two little boys. Our new neighbors have a little boy and girl, which makes the combination perfect. In the picture above, we're just missing Molly, who was also dressed as Dumbo.

Long story short: Halloween evenings have become increasingly chaotic, but have also increased in general cuteness and fun!

I'll post more about Benny's costume and our butternut squash feast soon!