Inside the Mind of a 2-year-old (or me)

"Mama," said Isaac as I searched for a computer game for him to play. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I don't know," I said. "What are you thinking?"
"Sesame Street!"
Right. Of course.

Funny how the mind of a small child works. I mean, I used to make fun of Lunchables. You know, those prepackaged trays of cheese and crackers and (kinda gross) lunchmeat. Who in their right mind would pay all that money for something that they probably have at home already? Then last night I needed a really quick dinner idea that Isaac would actually eat and suddenly I had this idea to get him a Lunchable. Not only did he eat some of it but he was really excited. He kept talking about it. Who knew?
So anyway, to the inventor of Lunchables, I'm sorry I doubted you. You truly are a genius.
Come to think of it, I guess that's just marketing for you. That works on me too. I bought the shampoo that I'm currently using for no other reason than that the bottle is pink. And I do enjoy using it.
Sure, it makes my hair fall out but I do like looking at that pink bottle!
Just kidding. It doesn't make my hair fall out.
That could be stress right?





ps. Don't get worried my dear ones who are reading this. My hair isn't actually falling out. Just a joke!
Happy Monday!

More nutritious lunch choices

So the good news is that we're not eating as much mac 'n cheese these days. The bad news is that now Isaac is basically subsisting on Peanut Butter and Fluff sandwiches. Peanut butter and FLUFF! I'm embarrassed to even type it.
I'm not exactly sure how it happened except that I remember walking through the grocery store one day (I think while I was still pregnant) and seeing the fluff and remembering it from my days in daycare (where the only other things that I remember ingesting were oreos and kool-aid... in case you wondered why I don't send my kids to daycare!) and I wanted some. But I didn't buy any that day. In fact I didn't buy any for weeks even though it's right next to the peanut butter (which we buy every week) and the craving wouldn't go away. Finally I caved in and bought some for a treat, resolving not to let Isaac have any. Which lasted for exactly 2 seconds after he asked for a bite. So now he's eating "P-Fuff" for breakfast and lunch most days and would probably want it for dinner, you know, if he would actually eat dinner. One day he even finished his sandwich and then, while I was busy with Grace, he ate most of mine! Isaac! Ate almost 2 whole sandwiches! What do they put in that stuff anyway? Marshmallows and CRACK?! Maybe I should start slipping some broccoli in there between the fluff and the bread. Hmmm.....
Anyway, we will close on the house on Monday IF everything goes right between now and then. So stay tuned!

Fun with Food

Do you ever have those moments when you're trying not to notice what your kid is doing because it's keeping him quiet and if you don't stop him then you might actually get to sit and drink your coffee (or blog) for 5 minutes? Then you accidentally look straight at him so you have to go ahead and admit that you're letting your kid take all of the spoons out of the silverware drawer and put them in the sugar dish. No? Me neither. I was just checking.
Seriously though, these are some things that I've let Isaac do just for a few minutes to myself.

1. Play with cups and water in the kitchen sink (with clean cups, not dirty ones!)

2. Play with oats.

3. Play with flour.

4. Peel the wrappers off of all his crayons.

5. Open a new box of crayons to peel because the old ones don't have any wrappers left.

6. Watch too much TV.

7. Peel the skin off of a garlic bulb.

8. Play with uncooked macaroni.


Ok, I'm starting to notice a pattern here. I think I'm going to need to make a donation to the food pantry at our Church this weekend to alleviate some guilt. It's a good thing he got a sandbox for his birthday! He does so love to scoop and pour!
Anyway, now that I've confessed, I just want to make an excuse explain. I'm really not a lazy Mom... just tired. There was this whole month between taking up caffeine again and finding out that I was pregnant again where I was such a good Mom. We even walked to the park almost every day! Then, BAM! The morning sickness hit and it was back to laying on the couch all day trying not to fall asleep on the job. But I digress.
I guess I just needed to remind myself that this really uninspired style of mothering is just temporary and more a product of the timing of my children's arrivals than a reflection of me as a mother. And since it was an accident on my part God's timing, I guess it will all work out just fine. Anyway, confession is good for the soul, right?
Gotta go! Trash truck is here!

Toddler Cuisine- part 2

You know how sometimes kids start to turn orange from eating too many carrots or sweet potatoes? Because that is a real thing! Really it is!
I think Isaac may turn orange one of these days but if he does, it's not gonna be from carrots, that's for sure! If he turns orange, it will definitely be from too much macaroni and cheese. He calls it "nocheese" (which we find completely endearing) and it's his very favorite food. I'm ashamed to admit that we eat it, on average, about 3 times a week. Eek!
Here's the thing. I never intended to let my toddler eat macaroni and cheese! I like to pride myself on being a little bit of a health food nut (ok so that's more in theory than in practice) and thought that I would only feed my children very nutritious whole foods. But then life happened. And a very very picky toddler happened. You know how they say that it's ok to lay down the law about food because a child will NEVER starve himself? NOT TRUE! My little S.W.C. (strong-willed child) starved himself right down to the 3rd weight percentile for his age. When his pediatrician started to act concerned, I decided to lighten up. At least that's my excuse...er, reason.
Anyway, I guess for now I'll just have to comfort myself with the fact that despite our country's obesity epidemic and related heart disease, we still have a pretty darn good life expectancy! Right? RIGHT???
Can you tell that I have some guilt?

Toddler Cuisine

Today when Isaac asked me for another sunchip after he finished the one he was eating, I had to say no. Why did I HAVE to say no? Because we don't have any left. The one he had was from a bag that we bought at Subway LAST WEEKEND! He found it somewhere in our living room. Why is it that the same children who never eat what you put on their plate will eat ANYTHING they find on the floor? I know it's not just my kid. I just read somewhere about parents that actually put vegetables on the floor on purpose so their kids will eat them. I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T THINK OF THAT!
Anyway, today I'm just counting my blessings that the worst thing Isaac's ever eaten was a couple of dead ladybugs and not a cat turd like the kid at the park almost ate! Also, he actually enjoys two, count 'em TWO different vegetables........ even when they are on a plate!