What I Really Want for Mother's Day

Last night I dreamed a dream about eating cupcakes. There. So that's how Not So Sweet May is going. Let's move on.

You see a lot of these "What I really want for Mother's Day" posts this time of year. And most of them go like this: "to go to the bathroom alone," "to sleep in," "to not have to cook anything, all day," "a quiet bath," and this year I saw a few "to be completely alone for 24 hours." Mothers work hard and they deserve to want what they want for Mother's Day. Wanting these things does not mean you love your kids less than anyone else. Moms for moms over here.

I often dream about having a day completely to myself. A day where I can read an entire book, leave the house without worrying about naps or bottles, and get dressed without making sure I can throw what I'm wearing in the wash to get spit up out of it. After some thought, and a second child, I realized that Mother's Day is not really a day for me. It's a day for me AND my kids.

What do I remember about Mother's Day? Usually, my memories involve getting dressed up and going to brunch with my maternal grandparents and most of my mom's 6 siblings, their spouses, and my cousins. We were always a large crowd. The grand presentation of homemade gifts, the hallmark cards passed around the table, and the dessert. Afterward, we came home, got comfortable and had a pretty normal Sunday. Then I wondered how I would feel if my memories of Mother's Day consisted of my mother being alone while we did something with my Dad.... and when I put it that way it didn't sit well. 

As a parent, I spend a lot of time trying to create memorable experiences for my children. Things they will look back on and think of fondly. The funny thing is that most of my fond early memories with my mother were normal occurrences, or daily routines. I remember looking at her blond hair from the backseat of her car as we drove from here to there. You know the sound that a leather steering wheel makes as you complete a turn and let it glide back into position through your hands? I remember that. And I was fascinated by it. I couldn't wait to be able to drive so that I could turn a steering wheel just like my mom. 

I remember the round rug that used to be on the floor of her bathroom. I would sit there and watch her get ready for dinner with my father, an evening with friends, or a business outing in the city. There are great 1980's details like the way she used a curling iron to perfectly sweep her bangs to the side, and her favorite shade of Clinique lipstick. (It was Watermelon and has since been discontinued, but it could make a comeback!) She would sometimes ask me to help fasten her bracelets, and I would sometimes beg her to stay home instead of leaving. After she left I'd go back into her bathroom, sit down on the round rug and breath in her lingering perfume. It was Yvonne LaFleur from an eclectic shop of the same name in the Riverbend area of New Orleans. 

These memories are warm in my soul. They are forever rooted there. The feeling of being driven is a feeling of being cared for, being taken along for the ride. Witnessing the ritual of getting ready taught me the importance of taking time to dress up when the occasion calls for it. The time to be a woman, wife, friend or sister for the day or evening, and take a short break from being someone's mom. The times when my mother was likely not trying to make me feel specifically cared for or to teach me anything, those were the times that I learned and remembered.

What I really want is for Mother's Day to be day one of another new year as a mother. This year I resolve to be happy. To create a foundation for these basic moments to one day serve as a beautiful memory for my children. To make the day to day tasks more sweet for all of us. To spend time letting my 10 month old crawl all over me and not worry about spit up. To play whatever game my 3 year old wants to play. To appreciate my husband for the ways he provides, supports, and helps me to be a better mother. AND I also really want to sleep in. 

Happy Mother's Day to my mom. Through her daily actions she continues to teach me what being a mother is about. I love you to the moon and back.

My two best girls.

The Kids are Alright.... But How are You?

My kids are alright. They are probably better than that, but for the sake of sticking with a theme, they are completely fine. At their current very needy age, their needs are met unless they are capable of meeting their own needs. In that instance, we work together on accomplishing new skills. They are fed, they sleep soundly (eventually) and they are happy little people. 

I'm sure a lot of people saw the "world's toughest job" viral video that was rolling around last week. It was close to the truth without mentioning that the ways you get paid for the toughest job in the world are really immeasurable. Sometimes you really don't sit down ALL DAY. You know the number one reason I would like the have the house all to myself? TO CLEAN IT without being interrupted. I turned on Frozen for an hour yesterday and ironed. IRONED. and I was like "YES! Finally... the ironing." This is glamorous stuff. And when the day comes to a close and I am cleaning up little clothes and little closets and making sure little rooms are straight, I walk into my room and it's like the dirty side of a hurricane. Too many piles of clean clothes that are now wrinkled because they have been sitting in the dryer continuously being tossed as I continuously forget to fold them when they are done tossing. 

 

Every day I feel like a maid, a mediator, a teacher, a therapist, a chef, a personal assistant, a nurse, a magician, a clown, a singer, an actress, an architect, a trash man, a gardener, a handyman, a tea party guest, a janitor, and a chauffeur. I also feel loved beyond measure by these two little people because I am able to be all of that for them. My kids are alright... but how am I?

As people we constantly change and evolve, we learn and we grow. As I handle how having two children has changed my life, I have been looking inward to see how I can overcome certain obstacles. The end result of all of this thought is that if I REALLY want to take care of my children I need to take care of myself. If I am teaching a three year old how to do the things for herself that she is able to, I should probably be modeling that behavior. This doesn't have to just do with parents though. Taking good enough care of yourself is an issue with many people.

Here is a nice confession... I am a sugar addict. When you see my daughter having local, pasture raised eggs with organic butter and organic strawberries for breakfast, what you don't see is the bowl of organic chocolate krispies that I am having. Just because it's organic, doesn't mean it's not sugar and junk. When I'm not eating organic junk chocolate sugar, I'm grabbing a Kind Bar to eat in the car. No, not the fruit, nut and protein Kind Bar, the dark chocolate and peanut butter Kind Bar. More sugar. And while my lunch and dinner meals are usually very healthy and veggie filled, about ten minutes after dinner I go for the chocolate ice cream... This, and the possible cookies, lunch desserts, or chewy candy, that you don't see is my real life.

These realizations came about as I began documenting our meals on the Raising Texas Instagram feed. I was seeing so many instances where my daughter was eating things I should be making for both of us. Instead I was making a poor decision for myself and the right decision for her. So why shouldn't I be making the right decisions for all of us. It sure would save me a lot of hiding cookie eating from my kids. 

I'm on a bit of a journey to take better care of myself, and by doing so, be a better wife, mother, daughter and friend. I clearly have an issue with sugar, so I made a T chart. You remember those, right? It wasn't pretty (literally and figuratively).

 

So here we are. Sugar, for me, is not really a positive thing. I think it has a place in my diet, but I clearly have an issue with eating way too much right now. For the month of May I am giving up non naturally occurring sugars. I'm still going to eat plenty of fruit to try and get through this, but I am not having ice cream, or candy, or cereal, or cookies, or chocolate, or margaritas (GASP!), but I'm going to have wine because I feel like I will sometimes really need a glass... especially when I can't have dessert on Mother's Day. Also, I've already given up wine for two extended periods of time called pregnancy. Wine and I are cool.

So here's where I wait for the crickets... Does anyone want to do this together? I have recruited my sister in law and my mom to join me, although they could have just been being nice. Frankly, I might need the support and misery loves company. Is that a joke? Hmmm... Let's just say that no one is excited about my withdrawal period, especially my husband. That's why we're calling it #notsosweetmay. Because my diet will not be so sweet, and for a period of time, neither will I. Fair warning.

The countdown begins... I bought a new blender and I'm going to replace my morning sugar surge with smoothies. I'm not sure what I'm going to replace chocolate ice cream with. I'm honestly nervous about this one. 

Here's to treating ourselves as well as we treat our kids. Guess it's time to clean my room.

RT

Diaper Disposal Wars

This sounds like it should be a new reality show. Maybe something on TLC or Discovery. Interested parties please contact me for more information. 

Top News Story

 What it is really about....... now hold on, because you non parents will just be FASCINATED by this..... it's a post about DIAPER PAILS!!!! And you thought you couldn't  be more excited. I'm full of surprises. In my first year of motherhood I had the fortune to use three different diaper pails. They all had their pluses and they all had their drawbacks. It led me to the conclusions that, for me, there is no such thing as the perfect diaper pail. This conclusion was not life altering. It was interesting in a weird, mom-centric kind of way. Here are my personal experiences with three of the MANY pails on the market.

Exhibit A: Baby Trend Diaper Champ Deluxe

Pros: you can use regular trash bags. Regular trash bags are much cheaper than the refills designed for most diaper pails.

Cons: when you read the product description is states that you should use the specific Diaper Champ refills for "maximum odor control." Maybe that helps, but I didn't get that far. This thing does not contain smell. Also, it's not hands free. You have to lift the little handle up and down to open and close it. 

Conclusion: If you don't mind using your hands and you are breastfeeding a baby (non smelly diapers) then this could be a good pail to save some money. But when your kid starts eating solid food, this pail will keep friends and family out in the yard. That might be a good thing for you. If so, move it to the "pros" area.

Exhibit B: Diaper Genie Elite 2

I don't know what "Elite 2" has to do with anything, but this is the version of the Diaper Genie that I see most often in stores and in homes, and it's the one I currently use so we are being very brand specific.

Pros: Hands free use. This is a huge one for me. You step on the pedal, throw in the diaper and that's it. Another huge plus is the bagging system. Because the disposal bag runs on kind of a constant loop, if you have a smelly diaper, you can trim the bag and take it out without having to waste an entire bag. One last pro for tiny babies with tiny diapers, this thing holds a TON of newborn/size1/size2 diapers. 

Cons: The refills are expensive, but I can justify this with the whole tear off bag. The Diaper Genie has been great, but as the diapers get smellier (as your kid gets older), my genie does not contain the smell very well. And as easy as it is to cut the bag and toss out the smelly diaper, I don't want to do it twice a day (or even once a day for that matter). Not that I have remarked on it to them, but I have also been to friend's homes who have toddlers and use a diaper genie and the kid's room usually smells. I'm sure people have noticed the same thing here...... But I tell myself they don't. 

Conclusion: I really like the Diaper Genie. It is basically perfect when you are breastfeeding and into the first stages of solid foods. I started really noticing that it wasn't containing smells when Landon was 15 or 16 months old. So now you might judge me because she is 21 months old and I'm still using ole smelly... I just loved the hands free so much. I was willing to change it more often. 

Exhibit C: Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail by Munchkin

Full disclosure: this is the pail I am thinking about switching back to.

Pros: This diaper pail is a SMELL CONTAINING MACHINE. It was the one I registered for but I'll save why I switched it out for the cons. Here is an example of the smell this thing can take on. This pail went to my mom's house for the nursery she keeps there. Landon has two cousins who are close to her in age and both in diapers. Three toddlers (a 2 years old, and two 20 month olds) can be at the house for the weekend, all using this diaper pail and we NEVER have to change the bag unless it gets full. Truth.

Cons: I can also call this section "things I overlook to contain diaper smell". The refill bags are expensive like all others and a set size, but since it contains smell there is really no need to change them until they are full. My biggest complaint with this pail is that you have to press down to lift the top, then shove the diaper through the smelliness seal (my name for it, not theirs) and then close the top to enact the whole twisting, smell containing machine. This would be fine now, but with a moving baby, you just need two hands, in my opinion. 

Conclusion: I think this one is really good for the older stage when you can use one hand and your kid has stinky style diapers. If I can get L to start doing #2 in the potty again, I will just stick with the diaper genie since our diaper volume is dropping (and will hopefully continue to do so). 

Now let's talk about stink control... what have I missed in the world of diaper disposal? Is there some magic device I should keep on my radar for next time around? Or do you totally disagree with my assessment of something above? I do think I tend to be a mix of overly smell conscious and too lazy to change diaper bags. Interesting combo. 

We'll get back to food soon, but I couldn't talk about food and diaper stink in the same post. If you don't understand that, we should have a talk. 

-RT

What's for Dinner?

Lately I have felt like I'm letting my Cooking Light subscription go to waste. It is easier for me most times to not follow a recipe, or maybe just less time consuming. I also feel like when I am following a recipe I end up spending more at the grocery store. I tried to challenge all of that and looked for recipes that were inexpensive (or that I had most of the ingredients for) and that took an hour or less to cook. Cook along with me and compare experiences, or wait and see how it goes before you try these out. I picked three recipes knowing that they would provide leftovers for at least one to two nights. 

Here is what we are up to this week:

Chicken and Orzo Skillet Dinner

Photo from Cooking Light

Pork Chops with Roasted Apples and Onions 
served with Haricots Verts and a Mustard Vinaigrette

Photo from Cooking Light

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Mustard-Thyme Sauce
with Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans

Photo from Cooking Light

In sickness updates, after a quick dr visit this morning, Landy is on the mend and it has been officially confirmed that there is still not a cure for Tantrums. If you discover one, let me know. I'm just going to keep working with general lack of attention even though it gets difficult when a small person is clinging to your legs. Motherhood. So glamorous (flossy, flossy.)

Time to mentally prepare for cooking through a tantrum. Nap time is a survival gift from God. And a BIG Happy Birthday to L!

-RT

Food for the Soul: Cooking for Others

There are things that we get away from as society grows and we further isolate ourselves from our neighbors. The more we turn toward our computers, our phones, and our own needs, the more we lose the connections with those around us. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti progress, but there are certain old fashioned ways that I hold dear and will do my best to continue. Here is something about me: I like to be useful. But sometimes, the best way to be useful is to not incessantly ask someone "what can I do?" The most important times in our lives, the ones that are the highest peaks and the lowest valleys, are the times when people are needed. But what CAN you do? You can feed the soul by feeding the person.

Food is a group hug for your stomach. Your stomach told me this.

I tend to be good at bad situations. I can't think of a better way to put it. When the world around me is falling apart, the only way I thrive is by being the one who keeps it together. And I keep it together by doing what I can do for the people who have lost more than I have. When someone loses a loved one, I cook. If I can't cook because we have to leave town to be there, I clean. If I can't cook and I can't clean, I send flowers and eat ice cream at home while watching a rom com.

When a new baby is born, I LOVE IT. While I didn't get it as much before having my own baby, how can you not LOVE a brand new baby and all of the brand new joy that goes along with it? You have to. Those are the rules. When a baby is born, I cook. And then I buy monogrammed things and tell L she has a new friend (who she can only look at and not touch for four months), and then I cook some more.

Because I have been the recipient of meals cooked lovingly by others I know how much they really mean. It's more than just a meal, it is love and it is warmth and it is food for the SOUL. When you haven't slept all night because you have a new baby and you have amazing friends drop something from their kitchen on your front door, it is better than Christmas. When you wake up after an hour of sleep to breast feed a colicky baby and find your mother cooking in your kitchen, it is a memory that will last a lifetime. 

I am fortunate enough to not yet be the recipient of sympathy food, but sympathy food is something that is somewhat selfish for me. When I know someone that I love is hurting, it is something I can do for them that is useful and that I know will serve a purpose.

At the end of last week, S's first cousin once removed passed away. He and S's father grew up together and he thought of him very much like a brother, so it was a difficult loss for his parents. He was also a really fun and wonderful man in lots of ways who hosted us in Pittsburgh when we were engaged and helped us celebrate our wedding. He was instrumental in the craft beer movement in Pennsylvania and although he was taken too soon, he lived a great life. 

When I heard that he had passed away, I was already on my way to the store, so I stocked up on the things I needed to make a casserole for S's parents so they wouldn't have to worry about cooking for a few days. My first rule in bringing food to others is to cook something that you love to eat. That way you know that it is good. I went for King Ranch Casserole and I was on a time crunch since I had Landy with me and because S's dad was going to swing by and pick it up. Also, this is not a "healthy" recipe, but I make it as healthy as possible. Please just don't focus too much on the cheese quantity. You are the one sprinkling, you can sprinkle as much as you want (or don't want).

Time Crunch King Ranch Chicken Casserole (for the soul)

Makes two pans if you use a 7" x 11" rectangular pan

I made one in a 13" x 9" rectangular pan with another small one in an 8" x 8" square pan

Ingredients: 

time crunch ingredient: Store Rotisserie Chicken

or

non time crunch ingredient: 3 - 4 cups of cooked, shredded chicken

2 large onions

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

3 - 6 cloves of garlic (optional, if you like garlic)

1 T EV Olive Oil

2 cans of healthy request cream of chicken soup (low sodium if they have it)

2 cans of healthy request cream of mushroom soup (low sodium if they have it)

2 cans of original rotel, drained

2 t Chili Powder

2 t garlic powder

20 corn tortillas

4 C of shredded cheese (mexican four cheese blend works well)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Chop your onions and peppers and mince your garlic. Then put a large stock pot on the stove over medium heat to warm up the pan. Combine the onions, peppers and garlic.

Chopped Onion with a trash bowl nearby.

Chopped peppers

About to murder the garlic. Then combine it all.

Pour the EV Olive oil in the pan to coat the bottom and add the onion, pepper, garlic mixture to pan, cooking over medium and stirring until everything is soft.

Pan Party

If I cook my own chicken, I actually do that first so it has time to cool before I need to shred it. Since I used a rotisserie chicken I shredded it while the vegetables were cooking.

Half way mark for shredding.

When your veggies are soft and the onions are clear, add the cans of chicken and mushroom soup, the rotel (drained), the shredded chicken, the chili powder, and the garlic powder. Salt and pepper to taste.

REMINDER: if you are making for someone else and you don't know their salt/pepper preferences, keep your salt and pepper in check. They can always season later to their taste.

Empty soup

Rotel

One big gooey family.

After a couple minutes over medium heat, remove the mixture from the stove. At this point in my cooking, S's dad showed up early and I was put into overhaul mode to finish their larger casserole. What you see below is just the smaller one we kept for ourselves.

Grease the bottom of your pan with your preffered method. Then add a layer of tortillas, torn, until the bottom is covered.

torn tortilla bottom

Next, add a layer of your chicken mixture

Second layer

And last, sprinkle with cheese

Then start again with torn tortillas

More chicken mixture

More cheese

Grand finale, one more tortilla layer, skip the chicken mixture and go straight to the cheese. This layer gets really crispy and crunchy when you put the casserole in the oven.

And there you have it.

A side view of the layers.

If you were making this for immediate consumption, you would put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until the top is toasty with bubbling cheese.

Our casserole was a giveaway and we didn't cook the one we made for ourselves until the following day. In these isntances you cover the casserole and put it in the refrigerator. If well covered you can also freeze the casserole. To cook after freezing or refrigerating, simply bring the casserole back to room temp and heat your oven to 350 degrees and cook it for 25 - 30 minutes or until the top is toasty with bubbling cheese.

If there was a food in the world with the ability to group hug, it would be a warm casserole. This is one of my favorites.

Cooking for others doesn't have to be a practice you turn to just for loss of life or new births. Maybe you know someone who is having a hard time, maybe you have new neighbors, or maybe you just want to see a friend smile. That's right guys, I'm getting cheesy and sentimental, but it's true. Cooking for someone else is a wonderful gift and it means so much to the recipient of the meal that took your time and thought to create.

Cooking is a cherished practice that should be undertaken by everyone. Make every meal a celebration, and every time you cook remember that you are feeding more than just an empty stomach.

-RT

Eating Organic, Supporting Local Farmers & Kitten Eggs

This almost makes me want to be a farmer. ALMOST.

I don't recall thinking very much about organic vs non organic until I was put in charge of a tiny little person and her diet. All of a sudden it became important to me to know where my food was coming from and when I brought it into my home, what that food was bringing with it. First let's get something straight, I TRY to do my best when it comes to the food we eat. As much as I wish I could do my weekly grocery shopping at Whole Paycheck Foods and buy all organic, that is just not realistic to our family budget. So living in our real life, we do the best we can, and if I have to buy some things non organic that I would rather not, I don't sweat about it. The one thing I often find with organic products (like baby food in a jar or pouch, applesauce, etc) is that the ingredient list is pretty basic. Instead of having a baby food jar of bananas that has 4 - 5 ingredients, you get the following ingredients: bananas, water. That is what is most important to me. Trying to stick to real food when I can, but having my cheating moments (usually with wine, cookies, or ice cream).

A friend recently sent me an article from The New York Times headlined "Stanford Scientists Cast Doubt on Advantages of Organic Meat and Produce" and I was like hmmmm. The article discussed how a Stanford study found there to be little to no difference in nutritional value of organic vs non organic food. The problem is, I never knew that people actually thought that. The items I eat organic I choose because of pesticides, not because I think it will be better for me nutritionally. Other good news from this study: Organic milk not only lasts for two months, it also has more omega-3 fatty acids than non organic milk. Double bonus.

Happy cows don't lie. Also a great way to teach your toddler to say "moo!"

I don't really care if my meat or poultry is organic, but I have always worried about meat being hormone free. I know at least 10 girls who have had early puberty... like getting their period in the fourth grade early. To be fair, experts say that there are a number of reasons why girls are experiencing early puberty. To achieve puberty, girls must have a certain BMI, and one of the better theories says that because women are now exposed to better nutrition at an earlier age, they experience puberty earlier. The more popular train of thought is that kids are fatter and as the obesity rate increases, so does the rate of girls maturing sooner than normal. Even knowing this, along with the fact that food hormones, once consumed, are digested in the stomach, killing their ability to have any biological activity. I still don't want hormones in my food. So there.

Added growth hormones are about to enter your body.... Arm yourself.

In a perfect world everyone would be able to afford fresh, pesticide free produce. Unfortunately, pesticides have a purpose, and when it is used farmers yield more crops. Organic farming yields less crops, comes from fewer farmers, and so it is more expensive. I try to do the best than I can within my means.

Step one is supporting local farmers and growers. When possible, head to your local farmer's market. They are in EVERY CITY now. We have one in Houston almost every day of the week except Sunday, but there is probably one on Sunday somewhere. I really like the Urban Harvest Market on Saturday Mornings. If you are going to pay to buy organic, AND you can support local farmers while doing it, it's a win win.

Step two is about knowing your budget and having realistic expectations of what you can afford. Eating what is in season is a great way to stick to your budget, but there are also some organic foods that are a complete waste of your money. The pesticide count on certain non-organics is so low, that buying the organic version has almost no benefit. You can save that money to buy organic when it comes to the produce with the highest pesticide counts. That is where the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen come in. The Dirty Dozen are the fruits and vegetables that are the most contaminated with pesticides. By simply buying these 12 organic, you can substantially lower your pesticide intake. The Dirty Dozen includes (in order of most contaminated to least): Apples, Celery, Sweet Bell Peppers, Peaches, Strawberries, Imported Nectarines, Grapes, Spinach, Lettuce, Cucumber, Domestic Blueberries, and Potatoes (not sweet potatoes though). Leafy greens and green beans are also high on the pesticide count, but "The Dirty Fourteen" just doesn't sound as cool. I buy organic Kale always, it is almost the same price at HEB.

On the flip side, the Clean Fifteen are fifteen fruits and veggies with the lowest pesticide count, meaning you don't need to buy them organic. Especially handy for household budgets. They include: Onions, Sweet Corn, Pineapple, Avocado, Cabbage, Sweet Peas, Asparagus, Mango, Eggplant, Kiwi, Domestic Cantaloupe, Sweet Potatoes, Grapefruit, Watermelon, and Mushrooms. A really good variety and lots of kid friendly foods the whole family can eat.

My last food hang up is eggs. I pay too much for eggs because I want to buy the package that says "humanely raised in fields of loving soft grasses from Hens who have pet kittens to snuggle with at night." Those dozen eggs cost about $4.50. Worth it.

Best friends = Best Eggs

The Rooster was busy elsewhere...

 Seriously... you don't have to be a cat person to love kittens. Get over yourself. Kittens are for lovers. Kitten eggs are expensive, but completely worth it.

The point of this post, while taking some twists and turns, is that you don't have to be all or none when it comes to making decisions about the food you eat. What are you willing to compromise on and what do you support strongly? I suggest that everyone look into the food they are eating and find a good balance. While you are finding a good balance, also look for a local farmer's market. Supporting you local farmers is good for you community and good for your health. Eating what's in season (what the farmer's are growing) is cost effective and produce picked fresh and sold within days has so much more flavor!

- RT

I is for Independence: Two Days of Hard Fought Ladybug Meals

Aaand we're back to babies for a bit. Landon and I have been having a lot of fun lately, and also a lot of not so fun. Not so fun is tantrums in public, refusing to eat meat, and throwing anything related to food on the floor (usually accompanied with a dead pan stare). Ahh the joys of toddlers.

The only time pouting is cute is when it's a photo of someone else's child

The majority of frustrated times are now revolving around meal time. Little Miss Landy now has a strong opinion on what she would like to eat and what she would like to throw on the floor. I used to love meal time. It was such a wonderful time when we sat together and had our mini dinner parties (no wine). Now it's a mental mind field of "will she eat this", "how can I get her to do this", "how can I stop that", and the stress of making sure she is getting the iron she needs. Just to back track, L has iron absorption issues and we try to get it in naturally instead of by liquid supplement.

I used to ignore her when she threw food (get ready for a full circle moment) but then I started telling her not to, because she could understand me. That worked until she realized that she didn't have to listen just because I said so. Then I would take her out of the seat and make her pick up what she threw and put her back in. That was messy and also didn't go so well. She actually likes throwing the food AND picking it up. Then I thought, if she throws the food, I'll just turn her around so she has to eat looking at the wall. She really didn't care too much about that either.

"parenting"

So we are back to just ignoring it. I'm not sure if it works for her, but it is MUCH easier for me. When she finishes her meal if there is food on the floor, I ask her to help me pick it up and she mostly does. Don't get me wrong, she is not down on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor, she picks up a few bigger chunks of things and hands them to me. Baby steps. Literally. After all, she thinks picking things up is fun so I'm going to use that until it changes (probably tomorrow). 

I have offered different meal suggestions for toddlers, but still had some emails wanting an example of a typical day. A typical day is never typical, so here are two days of real life Landon food. 

Day 1:

Breakfast

Landon and I usually share breakfast. I fry 3 eggs. She takes two yolks and maybe the whites of one egg and I have the rest. This day I made some oatmeal that I ate most of and she had maybe 7 or 8 bites. She has water with all of her meals. 

Unexpected Snack

We did a bit of running around on this morning and a even in the afternoon. She got restless at the grocery store so I bought a bag of goldfish and gave her a handful. Then she saw the magic pop machine and I still had things to get. Instead of fighting a tantrum, I fed it. Magic pop. 

Lunch

Black eyed peas, zucchini, two GIANT organic strawberries, and some fresh pineapple. She wasn't really that excited about this lunch. To make up for it I mixed some goat cheese in with the black eyed peas. That helped a little. This meal was not a huge success, but I am going to blame the surprise morning snack.

Afternoon Snack

This afternoon snack was more like a picnic. L had a dr's appt. Of course, as Murphy's Law of Naps clearly states, she was taking the best nap of her life and I had to wake her up to leave. I grabbed things that were easy on the go. A banana, some magic pop in a zip lock, and a cheddar cheese stick that was eaten in the waiting room. I know bloggers are weird, but I am not going to take a picture of a cheese stick in the waiting room. There is a line.

Bakery Stop

My bakery vice. We'll wait to intro these to Landon

 I had to stop at the baker on the way home to order a cake. This bakery has a website landing page with the phone number. They don't answer the phone. Every baby gets a free sugar cookie unless their mom is so mean that she refuses. Free sugar cookie for L. 

Dinner

I made dinner small on purpose. Because of the entire banana she ate at 3:30, the sugar cookie at 4:15, and countless "bites" of magic pop. This is salmon and broccoli. She ate all of it and nothing more. She threw it on the floor. This was the meal that led me to my decision to ignore the food olympics. I had a glass of wine after bed time. Well deserved.

Day 2

Breakfast

Just a second reminder, we share breakfast. Also, this is what is offered. Lots of times half of the banana or the rest of the oatmeal is put back away for the next day. This breakfast was homemade oatmeal with a 1/2 C unsweetened apple sauce added in. It is one of my favorite ways to sweeten plain oatmeal. Three fried eggs, a peach, and banana. I took half of the peach and put it in the oatmeal chopped up. L ate the other half. There were eggs left over for me. This was a big breakfast.

Bakery Stop

Again. I know. I had to go back in because, like I said, they don't answer the phone. Who wants a sugar cookie at 9:15am? Landon. And me too, but I'm an adult so I just stole half of  hers when we got in the car.

Lunch

This was a really good lunch. More salmon from the filet I cooked the day before, mashed potatoes leftover from our dinner, raspberries, half of an avocado and a dolup of sour cream for the salmon. It was my back up plan in case she decided she didn't like salmon today. Turns out I needed it and it worked like a charm. She ate most everything offered. I only gave her half of the  mashed potatoes and she left 3 raspberries that I ate. Mommy clean up. Also, the food throwing dropped to a one time occurrence. Ignoring the baby behavior wins again.

Afternoon Snack

When she woke up from this nap L was really fussy. Her eye teeth have been coming in for what feels like MONTHS but she really only has pain on and off. I can't wait for those suckers to break through. She was really in pain and having a tough time settling down. So we turned on sesame street and she had some advil followed by her snack. We don't make it a habit to eat in the living room, but this was pretty pitiful. 10 minutes after the advil I heard her crunch into the magic pop, served with half a banana and a cheddar cheese stick.

Dinner

This isn't the actual dinner that goes with this day. I had a blog window available and I took it. Tonight I will be attempting to serve meatloaf, broccoli, sweet potato and the rest of the avocado from lunch. A very similar dinner to the one above, just sub out the peas and the chicken. Use your imagination. You'll need it in the years to come.

There they are. Two whole days of Landon food. It kind of makes me hungry. Question, does anyone else babyproof the old fashioned way?

Budget friendly babyproofing for the busy mom

Don't worry, all of the toxic items are in real baby proofed cabinets. This is just my lazy way for pots and pans and all other things. Rubber bands are courtesy of the produce section of the grocery store.

I just found some leftover sugar cookie in my bra. Today is not a glamorous day.

-RT

I'm Back AND I Carried a Watermelon!

I'm back! Sorry for the long break. I would have let you all know in advance that I was going to be up visiting one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes for the wedding of two of our friends, but S doesn't want me to tell the Internet when we are going to be out of town. I mean, the Internet KNOWS anyway. It knows everything.

How creepy is this, really? My iPhone now freaks me out.

After eight hours of travel on Sunday, we finally made it back home. Eight hours. This is a big milestone though, it's our last wedding of 2012. If I wasn't so tired, I would do back flips. Also, I would need to learn how to do back flips first. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE weddings. I really do. You get to see old friends and pretend like you are still in college (oh, did I not mention that Landy stayed home?) and you get to talk about brand new topics like kids, and fertility, and breastfeeding while drinking wine and not worrying about waking up a baby. It's lovely. 

And then I said "you should really feel your cervix to tell where you are in your ovulation cycle. Make sure you wash your hands first.... Oh, and hand over the vodka!'

 Also, just between you and me, Internet, there were 5 first trimester secret pregnancies at this wedding. FIVE. I have radar for that kind of thing, so if you are trying to remain secretly pregnant, I'm not going to call you out, but if you spend a little bit of time with me, just know that I'll know and then I'll wait for you to tell me. Also, no excuse for why you are not drinking is believable. Especially if you were a regular drinker before. This is a dead giveaway. Just pretend to drink. It's much more convincing. I have a whole group of tips on this that I am saving for later. It's a blog post I promised to one of the secretly expecting.

So back to weddings... we had a milestone year. 10 weddings with 8 out of the 10 out of town and out of the 8 out of town weddings, I was in two, S was in two and Landon was in one. So our turn down opportunities were about as slim as our wallets now are. I hate turning down weddings and I feel like a jerk for even saying "I have SO many friends that want us to come to their weddings that we just HAVE to turn them down." We are blessed in the friend department pure and simple, and this year was a tough one. I had to miss one of my dearest friend's weddings because we just couldn't make it happen. So I'm happy this year of wedding budgeting and wedding stress has come to a close. All of the weddings were amazing and all of the weddings were so much fun, but I am officially run down, the Olympics are over and I'm ready for fall. 

Here is some personal information about me...
THIS is yet another Olympic moment that gave me chills. I make no excuses.

I haven't cooked any real food since we left last week (really, it's that bad) I have no recipes to share. Instead you get tidbits from Gull Lake and Nisswa, MN. We stayed at the Grand View Lodge and it was gorge AND I felt like I was in dirty dancing the WHOLE TIME. I kept waiting for someone to hand me a watermelon so I could walk over to the staff quarters. 

I carried a watermelon, y'all!

The weather was so good it almost made me run every morning. Notice how I said ALMOST. I left triple digit high temps and 70% humidity for highs in the low 70s and crisp northern air. There was a lake. It looked like this from where I was sitting:

My friend B has a place up there and sent me the BEST suggestion. In the little town there is a shopping area called "Pretty Good Shopping". Seriously. Here is the sign:

It was true, the shopping in general was "pretty good" but the one store she told us to go to was AMAZING. I bought my first pair of Minnetonka Moccasins about 7 years ago and I still wear them all the time. The Totem Pole in Nisswa is like Minnetonka Moccasin heaven. AND there was a sale. As if Minnetonka Moccasins weren't reasonable enough. My one sale pair of shoes were not moccasins, but if you are around me this winter you are sure to see them. I might be wearing them right now....

Heaven on two feet.

 Then I got a little something for me Landon. This might be one of the bigger reasons I am ready for fall.

Baby Minnetonka Heaven

 Last I got another gift for me. This was following the double moccasins for our grandmother babysitters.

Mommy Minnetonka Heaven

Those are the hot vacation photos that I saved just for you! Let's face it though, a wedding is no vacation. If anything, I need a vacation to recover. Something tells me that wish is on the back burner. Here is a confession:

The Simple Truth.

Confessions are better when made by Golden Retrievers. My life will start getting back on track in 3... 2.... 1

Also, please enjoy:

- RT