Mother's Day

Cards from Busy Bee

Mother's day is Sunday, May 13th and if you haven't thought about gifts, now is the time to get cracking. Families with little ones know that it's usually dads responsibility to wrangle the kids into creating unique and memorable gifts for mom on this special day. Because dad may need a little bit of help, here are some pointers to make sure mom is happy this Sunday. 

First, you may want to take the practical direction and make it something mom can really utilize. New kitchen gadgets or tools for the garden show mom that you care about her interests. This is a good thought for a mom that doesn't have a lot of room for decorative items or has an avid hobby.
The second route is a homemade gift from the kids. Moms go crazy over things like handprint hearts and BusyBeeKidsCrafts.com has a great list of crafts for the littlest ones that will melt mom's heart. Another great thing about this site is dad will definitely be able to figure out these simple crafts and help the kids. Framed pictures and mementos are always great for mom to look back on and smile.

Finally, mom could always use something relaxing and responsibility-free. A spa day or weekend getaway would win mom over for sure. This idea is good for a mom that is always on the go or a new mom that is just getting the hang of motherhood. Being a mom is hard work and every mom would appreciate a night away without baby related duties!                                                                  Of course Baby Fanatic products make great gifts for moms with really little ones. The gift set features a bottle, bib, and pacifier with the logo of your family's favorite team. A mom that is a true sports fan will fall in love with this merchandise. Baby Fanatic has every MLB and NFL logo as well as a number of college teams. Check out your local retailer to find the latest Baby Fanatic merchandise!

Baby Food

Parents know how expensive baby food can be, with a lot of processed foods that you are unsure about feeding to your little one. Nurturebaby is a website that has tons of great recipes for homemade baby food. This way you know your baby is getting healthy, organic nutrients in their system. These recipes are fairly simple and inexpensive as well. Here are a couple examples: 

                                                                                           Pears Perfect                                        Hearty Beef Stew

Craft Websites We Love

On rainy days it's always fun to have an inside craft to do with the kids. We've found some awesome websites to refer to on dreary days. These crafts will keep your kids entertained for hours and the result is a keepsake or a memory they will cherish forever. 

First is a website just for the boys. This page has everything from toilet paper monsters to bathtub fishing. Sometimes it can be hard to keep a little boy's interest but these crafts will hold their attention and allow them to play when the craft is done. The Long Thread features a list of fun summer crafts for the kids. Some of these are edible too which is always fun! 

Ribbon of Leaves

This post on My Blessed Life has some great crafts to decorate the home. One of the favorites is a ribbon made of felt leaves. A tutorial can be found on the blog, A Beautiful Mess.

Tshirt Craft

This is a super easy and really fun way to hold onto a child's drawing by allowing them to wear it. Cindy Hopper of alphamom says all of the materials for this craft can be found at the dollar store! 

Tea Towels

Skip to my Lou features an awesome craft for hand decorated tea towels. There's always a need for towels in the bathroom or by the kitchen sink, why not let your little one decorate them? This way guests can see their artwork in a very creative and functional way. 

Heroic Dads

Posada and family

Although Mother's Day is less than a month away, there a few heroic dads in the media right now that need recognition. This is a post to honor the fathers that go above and beyond. First, in keeping with our recent chatter about the MLB season, retired Yankees player, Jorge Posada chose to throw the first pitch of the season to his father. The Posadas are a very baseball oriented family as Jorge's father was a scout and his uncle a player for the Kansas City Athletics. The first pitch in the Yankees stadium was one to remember as 3 generations of Posadas stood on the field to commemorate a sport their family has cherished for ages. With Posada's son, young Jorge, beside his father on the mound a very loving moment was captured as the ball was lobbed to Jorge Sr. behind the plate. Click here to read more about the pitch. 

Aeir Talk App

The next heroic dad is from Norfolk, Virginia. Joe Hill created Aeir Talk, an iPhone app for his kids who suffer from autism. Hill has two autistic children who have trouble communicating. He devised an app that allows parents to record content and images for kids to learn simple nouns and verbs. This app helps children to communicate things to their parents like what they want to eat or where they want to go that day. The app is $1.99 in the App Store. To learn more about Aeir Talk click here.
Finally our last dad, David Hererra delivered his baby when his wife's doctor was called into an emergency delivery. A news story video in San Antonio explains the story further. Hererra had seen the births of his three older children and acted on instinct in remembering what the doctor did to bring his baby girl into the world. These dads truly deserve awards. We'll keep our eyes peeled for more dads like them in the future!

Recycled Baby Clothes

Cute Cuddly Creatures

Have you ever felt guilty about throwing out old baby clothes that your little one has outgrown? A mother knows how many adorable outfits are given at showers and birthday parties that your child will only be able to wear a couple of times before they are on to the next size. Of course it is great to donate old baby clothes to Goodwill or pass them down to a younger sibling but what about the treasured little outfits that your baby wore the most? We found a great crafty blog that teaches you how to make a keepsake out of the onesies that hold special memories. Alisa Burke calls it "upcycling" your baby clothes. Burke has a tutorial on making stuffed animals your little one can enjoy and you can remember fondly. Here is an article with more creative and crafty ways to keepsake the memory of your baby's first years that blow the old scrapbook out of the water. Some favorites are a quilt of your favorite clothing items and blankets or a time capsule that your little one can look back on once they're grown. Babyzone.com is a great website for anything parent or baby related!

MLB Opening Day!

OREO Baseball Dessert

April 5th marked opening day for the MLB and every fan has hopes for their team to make it all the way to the World Series. Already some record breaking games, The Toronto Blue Jays and the Cleveland Indians started off 2012 playing the longest opening day game in MLB history, the Blue Jays won the 16-inning game 7-4. The Miami Marlins were defeated in Miami by the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1. There has been a lot of hype about the Marlins as they recently built a spectacular new stadium. There was plenty of theatrics with fireworks and a Muhammad Ali appearance, but the Cardinals were not intimidated. Click here for some great pictures from opening day. The MLB has posted some important dates on their website to check out as well. 

OREO CAKESTERS Baseball & Cap

With all this baseball excitement we thought it would be fun to look into some fun celebratory recipes and ideas for the whole family to get involved in! There are some great recipes on Kraftrecipes.com that are so cute for a baseball themed party or just to make with the kids! First is the OREO Baseball Dessert which is pudding, OREO's and whipped topping. The red thread is made out of licorice! Another really cute recipe we found was an OREO CAKESTERS Baseball & Cap. Little ones will really love this one because it's so easy for them to get involved with. You just cut an OREO CAKESTER and let the kids decorate the cap and the baseball! 

Baseball Wreath

A fun craft found on a fellow blog, is this adorable baseball wreath made out of toy baseballs. This would be really cute on a boy's door or decoration for a baseball get together. We hope all of you avid baseball fans can make use of these fun crafts for the family as your rooting on your team! Don't forget Baby Fanatic carries all of your favorite MLB teams on products for your little ones. Check our your local retailers to find Baby Fanatic merchandise before the season is over!

MLB Fan Cave

10-foot Tube Slide

Major League Baseball opened it's doors to a their newly redesigned MLB Fan Cave on April 2nd. This venue will house many fan events like concerts and MLB player and celebrity appearances. New features of the fan cave encompass a ten-foot tube slide, a dirt bar with authentic dirt from MLB ballparks, and a wall of big screen Sony televisions. 

The MLB will launch the MLBFanCave.com Concert Series featuring performances throughout the season by popular recording artists. The April Concert Series lineup includes:

Aaron Lewis (“It’s Been A While”, “Outside”, “Country Boy”, “Endless Summer”) - April 4, 5pm

Far East Movement (“Like A G6” and “Rocketeer”) – April 4, 8pm

The Fray (“How to Save a Life”, “You Found Me” and “Over My Head”) - April 13, 1pm

Daughtry (“It’s Not Over”, “Home” and “What About Now?”) - April 26, 6pm

These performances along with the others throughout the year will be free and open to fans, with highlights appearing on MLBFanCave.com. More information on how fans can attend these and other concerts will be available on the MLB Fan Cave’s Twitter and Facebook channels.

The MLB Fan Cave will host a continuous series of player appearances throughout the season.  MLB All-Stars scheduled to appear in April include Josh Johnson, Joe Mauer, Dan Uggla and Justin Verlander.  When they visit the Fan Cave, players will appear in a video web series that will showcase their personalities and interests in an entertaining way.  P3 ENTERTAINMENT, a New York City-based production company specializing in high-end digital and broadcast production, will direct and produce the series that will be 

available to fans through social media channels and on MLBFanCave.com. Last month, MLB revealed the nine “Cave Dwellers” – Ashley Chavez, Benjamin Christensen, Lindsay Guentzel, Shaun Kippins, Gordon Mack, Ricardo Marquez, Ricky Mast, Eddie Mata and Kyle Thompson – who will begin the season in the Fan Cave, watch every single MLB game each day, and chronicle their experiences via social media (bios here).  Throughout the season, Cave Dwellers will be eliminated until a winner is crowned by the end of the 2012 World Series.

The MLB Fan Cave will also be the remote studio home for a number of national television and radio shows throughout the season. For Opening Week, ESPN’s popular national show Mike & Mike in the Morning (starring Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, 6-10am ET) will conduct its show live from the Fan Cave on April 4 & 5, the mornings of Opening Night and Opening Day, respectively.  Also on April 5, MLB Network’s Intentional Talk (starring Chris Rose and Kevin Millar, 5-6pm ET) will shoot its show live from the Cave.Throughout the season, the MLB Fan Cave and the Cave Dwellers will contribute via social media and make weekly appearances on the MLB Player Poll, a new show by MLB Productions airing Saturdays during the regular season on FOX. 

Dirt Bar

Supported by MLB Advanced Media, the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball and industry standard bearer for technology in digital media, the Cave Dwellers will participate in season-long contests through MLB.com’s original programming and interactive games, where they will join millions of baseball fans playing fantasy baseball games such as Beat the Streak presented by Scotts and its $5.6 million grand prize.
For more pictures click here and visit the website for details!