Simple Car Play Mats and Storage

What little boy doesn't like their toy cars? They like to haul them everywhere! Yes, I know, because I have an 11 year old boy and an almost 2 year old boy. Granted, my Mr. T has passed the toy car stage but when he was little, he accumulated a great mass of those fun Hotwheels! Now, my Mr. A is enjoying all his big brother's cars.

This little play mat is a perfect way to bring along a few of the toy cars. Visiting relatives or going on a playdate...bring along some cars and they won't get lost along the way. This mat measures 16"x10" when opened up. The mat is made of heavy material. There is a coordinating cotton material along the bottom of the mat and for the binding of it. The material along the bottom has been divided into 5 sections that are the perfect size for the Hotwheels or Matchbox sized cars.

Along the top of the mat, I have sewn on a grey 'road' complete with yellow dividing lines. The road will get your child's imagination started!

When play is finished, place the cars in the slots, fold down the top of the mat, fold the mat into thirds and then wrap the tie strap around. The strap velcros onto itself so your young child doesn't have to keep asking you to tie it up; he can do it himself!

Diaper Changing Mats

Another nice, bright pile of flannel material! Actually they are all new TEJA Kids creations! I had gotten a request from MeshedDesigns (in Buffalo, MN) to create some diaper changing mats. And here is what I came up with.

These circular mats are approximately 27" across. The backside and the outer top ring are made of the same fun printed flannel. The middle layer (what you see in the center of the ring) is a coordinating solid or marbled flannel.

I have stitched two lines of stitching at 1/3 and 2/3's across the circle. This creates smaller 'pockets' in the ring. They are the perfect size for storing a few diapers and a travel wipes box.

After having 4 kids and numerous daycare babies, I have learned that you need to keep a baby occupied when changing them! I have added on two toy straps to the mat. Simply attach a little toy to the strap (the strap velcros onto itself) and baby can play while you are changing him!

Then it all folds up to a 10"x10" square. There is a ribbon at one edge that you can wrap around the changing mat to tie it closed. The mat then will fit into your diaper bag. Or you can just toss it into the stroller or car to take with on trips.

This mat can also be used as a little play mat. Turn it over and baby can lay or roll over on the colorful flannel. It is perfect for when you go visiting friends and you don't want your baby laying on dirty carpet!

Food Allergies Post

It seems like these days you hear a lot about kids with all sorts of food allergies. To me, it seemed like there seems to be a lot more heard about it now vs when I was younger. You had heard of a peanut allergy or a milk allergy growing up. But now, it seems like someone is allergic to something and allergens cause so many other problems! Well, my family has been added to that boat of multiple allergies.

It all started when my oldest son (Mr. T) was a baby. He tested positive for a milk protein allergy. No big deal; I just had to take out all forms of milk from his diet (milk, whey, milk powder, casein, sodium caseinate). It took a little time to get used to it but with just one kid, it wasn't that big of a deal. Mr. T slowly outgrew his milk intolerance so that by the time he was in 1st grade, we didn't have to monitor his dairy intake.

My twins Ms. E and Ms. J wanted to follow in their big brother's footsteps. We didn't even have them tested for a milk protein allergy since they presented with the same symptoms that Mr. T did (excessive spit up as well as blow out diapers). Took them off of all milk products and they, too, were much better. By Kindergarden, they outgrew this allergy.

Mr. A is our latest addition. He decided to join in the bandwagon with symptoms but then he also didn't want to be outdone. Milk was taken out of his diet and he seemed just a tiny bit better. When he was a year old, we were tired of still dealing with constant diaper blowouts so he had multiple tests to figure what else might be his problem. Negative results for milk allergy, rice, and gluten. We were stumped. We took gluten out of his diet anyways just incase it was an intolerance. So with milk and dairy out of his system, he was occasionally better but certainly wasn't normal. At the age of 21 months, we think we now have answers! He has a mild allergy to egg plus Carbohydrate Malabsorbsion Deficiancy (basicly can't digest certain sugars especially many fruits). I learned that some of the items that one should take out of your diet when you have CMD is gluten and lactose. That was why he was just a bit better when those were removed when he was younger!

Now I am at the point where I have to figure out a good balanced diet for my fruit and veggie loving baby; one that is high in fats and proteins. But how does one do that when their baby can't easily eat meat (lack of teeth!), is very picky, and you can't reason with them? I was constantly thinking of a food and then searching on a list I had recieved to see if the food was good for him or not. Then, of course, when I wanted to offer a different variety of foods, I couldn't think of any good ones off the top of my head. So...I took some time to create a list of my own. I created it with my other older children in mind also. I color coded each group of foods into a Good (green), Bad (red), and Ok (yellow) system. Then, if my older children want to help me out by grabbing a snack for Mr. A, they can just easily read the colors of food that are good for him!

Below, you will find the list I came up with. My own document is prettier as I've added the colors and put the foods in colums so it didn't take a lot of space. I'm sure this list isn't complete and I'm also sure that some foods should be in certain catagories for different people. Also, my son can't eat some of the 'ok' foods due to his complete diet of being Gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and mostly fruit free. But many of those items I'm hoping he will be able to tolerate in moderate amounts in time.

Now, I need to start implimenting this diet so I can (hopefully) see some positive results!

Yes
Aspartame
Bamboo shoots
Bananas
Blackberries
Blueberry
Bok choy
Boysenberry
Butternut squash
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Corn
Cranberry
Cucumber
Eggs
Eggplant
Equal
Fats; all
Glucose
Gluten free products
Grapefruit
Green beans
Green peppers
Hard cheese
Honeydew
Kiwi
Leafy greens
Lemons
Limes
Mandarin orange
Maple Syrup
Meats; all
Melons
Nutrasweet
Oranges
Papaya
Parsnip
Passionfruit
Pineapple
Pumpkin
Raspberries
Rhubarb
Root vegetables
Saccharin
Sherbet tolerated fruit
Sorbet (w/tolerated fruits)
Spinach
Strawberries
Sucrose
Sugar
Sweet n Low
Sweet potatoes
Table Sugar
Tangelos
Tea
White potatoes
Yogurt




No
Apples (sugar content)
Apple cider
Apple juice
Applesauce
Apricots (high sugar content)
Artichokes
Asparagus
Baked Beans
Beans; some
Beetroot
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage
Canned fruit in pear juice
Cherries (high sugar content)
Chickpeas
Couscous
Currant (high sugar content)
Dates (high sugar content)
Desserts sweetened with fructose/sorbitol
Fennel
Fig (high sugar content)
Fructose
Fructooligosaccharides
Galactooligosaccharides
Garlic
Grapes (high sugar content)
Honey
Kidney beans
Lactose
Leek
Lentils
Lychee
Maltitol
Mango
Mannitol
Navy beans
Nectarine
Northern beans
Okra
Onions
Peach
Pear (sugar and sorbitol)
Pear juice
Peas
Plum
Prunes (high sugar content)
Raisins (high sugar content)
Rye
Shallots
Sorbitol
Soy products
Sugar free gum
Sugar free candies
Sugar snap peas
Watermelon (high sugar)
Wheat (fructooligosaccharides)
Xylitol
Yogurt with added fruit sweetners or high fructose corn syrup






Maybe; in small amounts
Avocado
Baked items w/dried fruit
BBQ sauce
Canned fruit in heavy syrup
Cauliflower
Coconut milk
Coffee w/added sweetners
Corn
Dried fruit
Dried fruit bars
Fortified wines (sherry, port)
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Juices (with High fructose corn syrup)
Lactose
Milk flavored with fructose or High fructose corn syrup
Mushrooms
Salad dressings made with high fructose corn syrup
Soft drinks
Sugar free jam/jelly
Sweet and sour sauce
Tea with added sweetners
Tomatoes
Tomato sauce