F is for Visiting Family and Friends

When my kids got mobile my whole world changed.  It meant I had to make sure they couldn't eat anything they shouldn't, EVERYTHING became a choking hazard and everything seemed dangerous.  So, like most parents I turned my house (or at least part of it) into a kid safe zone.  But what about when they go other places?  Here are 5 ways to keep your kids safe and happy when visiting homes that haven't been childproofed!

1. Bring your own milk and/or juice.  Don't assume that people will have it at their house.  We usually stop at a gas station and buy those 1 serving milk/juice bottles and then stick them in the fridge when we arrive.  The distraction of a bottle or sippy cup does wonders.

2. Bring an easy to transport toy.  We don't travel with my sons building blocks, but we will bring one puzzle or one of his toy trucks.

3. Assume there will be no good place to change a diaper.  Make sure you have something to put under them to protect wherever you do change them

4. Use distraction well.  Your child focused on the stone fireplace and chimney? Time to go outside to run around the big tree!

5. Ask for help.  Is your child obsessed with stuffing things in electrical outlets?  Bring some covers with you and ask your host to place them in the room your child will be in mostly.

And remember, learning to exist in environments outside the home is important.  For you and your child!

E is for Eating with Toddlers

My son went from being an adventurous, try anything eater to a kid who prefers to say "no" without opening his mouth.  So through trial and error I came up with 4 ways that made meal time more enjoyable for all of us

1. Know what they do like.  In my house we love pretzels. My son would eat them for every meal and snack if I let him.  So I know most of the time the promise of just one Utz pretzel will make him eat a little of almost anything.

2. "Dipping sauce".  This is key in our house.  My son will eat just about anything if he can dip it in something first.  It doesn't matter what.  Strawberries into ketchup, squash into maple syrup.  A small pool of dipping sauce goes along way.

3. Changing the view.  When he was younger it didn't matter to him what his high chair looked at.  Now, we found he eats better when he is facing the table and we are all eating together.  He is more likely to eat more and sit longer if he is watching us eat as well.

4. Sometimes you just have to give them what they want.  Yesterday for example my son refused to eat anything but pretzels or yogurt puffs.  Last month this would have made me crazy...I would have tried everything to get him to eat something healthy.  Sure enough, today he woke up and ate fresh tomatoes with french toast and strawberries for breakfast, housed a tuna sandwich for lunch, ate a snack of veggie sticks in a little ranch dipping sauce and is already looking around for dinner.

B is for Books at Bedtime

I don't have a lot of time at bedtime unless I am going to keep my little guy up past his bedtime.  So creating a meaningful routine is hard.  Ours centers around books.  I make him up his bottle and he gets his blanket and stuffed animal of choice and gets to pick 3 books.

We read the classics, Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  But lately he has been going to ones I had not previously been familiar with.  This week we have read Duck on a Bike a wonderful story where he can make animal sounds.

But my favorite part of our bedtime routine is after his three books he curls up in my lap and drinks his bottle and we read Goodnight NOLA.  I can recite the book by heart, and my little guy loves it so much that I have decided to buy these Goodnight books every time we travel to a new place that has them.  It seems like a great way to help a child remember all the places they visit.  And they are perfect for bedtime.

A is for Apple

I was, as usual short on time the other morning.  Trying to rush through breakfast so I could get to work on time and all I could find as a main ingredient were apples. In 15 minutes I created 3 different things that pleased each of the people in my home (with some left overs for me).  I was impressed since I have a 6 month old, a 20 month old and a husband who is picky about breakfast.

So I present A is for Apple...my guide on how to make 3 things in 15 minutes that they all will appreciate...and is healthful for them (and organic if you choose).

1. Put on water to boil
2. Take at least one apple per person (I used 4...my husband got two)
3. Peal the apples for the children
4. Cut one pealed apple up crudely (we are going to make quick apple sauce with this one)
5. Cut one pealed apple in thin, long strips (dipping sticks)
6. Cut the remaining unpealed apples into square shaped chunks (no bake apple crisp)

To make the applesauce:
1. dump the crudely cut, pealed apple into the boiling water (boil about 5 minutes)
2. remove when the apples are soft.  I like to mash them up with a fork.
3. add a dash of cinnamon and/or nutmeg to taste

To make the dipping sticks:
1. take thin, long strips of apple and arrange on a plate
2. using available (appropriate) condiments create mini "dipping piles" around the plate.  My son ended up with maple syrup from our neighbors farm, organic peanut butter and tomato sauce (he requested the last one and ate it all I might say)

To make the no bake apple crisp:
1. take the remaining apples and toss with 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg
2. melt 1 tbsp butter
3. toss butter with 1/4 oatmeal and apple mix and microwave until warm

Oh the things kids say...

My son woke up from his nap yesterday and was talking in his crib. Suddenly the talk turned into yells first for "dada". (He was walking the dog). Then to "nana" (she does not live with us). then to "PopPop" (also not someone who lives with us). Then "mama" and so I dried my hands and headed toward the nursery when suddenly the cries stopped.

Then in a quiet voice he called out "Jackcat?" (our cat's name obviously). I feel pretty good that I got called for before the cat...but pretty bad that I had clearly left him in his crib for so long he was reaching out to the pets for help.

Blue Poop?

Let me begin by saying I am not an earthy crunchy mom who feeds her kids only oraganic food and hasn't introduced refined sugar into their diets yet. I have always felt as long as they are getting what they need, what's the harm in processed food?

So this morning as I am changing my son's diaper I noticed his poop had some blue in it. Not like "I ate too many blue berries blue" but like bright unnaturally colored blue. At first I panicked and then I remember the large quantities of Crunch Berries he ate yesterday. And I laughed. Judge away :)