I'm taking a break this morning from my usual blog fare of kid stories to share a recipe (and procrastinating getting things ready for Cbear's birthday party tomorrow). There's been a lot of talk lately about green smoothies, how healthy they are and a good way to get your greens, detox, etc. Recently I had a conversation with a friend about these smoothie recipes and how people are all, "you can't taste them (the greens) at all!" and we were skeptical (it certainly can't be as good as ice cream, right, friend?! You know who you are. :)) Well, while I still maintain that it's not quite as yummy as ice cream, I made up my own recipe (because, not to brag, but I love smoothies and I'm pretty good at making them) and you can't taste the spinach and it's really delicious and guilt-free. Oh, and my smoothie ended up purple, not green.
half a banana
4 oz Greek yogurt (I used strawberry)
handful of raw spinach (maybe about a cup? I didn't measure)
handful of frozen blueberries
3-5 frozen strawberries
1-2 Tbsp. milled flax seed
milk
orange juice
Add the first six ingredients to your magic bullet (this is what I use, but of course you can use a blender) and then fill almost to top with half milk and half juice. Blend and enjoy!
All right, now I must be off to clean and make cupcakes. :)
Friday, March 23, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
First foods
This is not a post about Jellybean starting solids, although that is right around the corner! Rather, I'm writing today about the big sister helper who likes to share everything with Jellybean. Poor Cbear...the concept of sharing is difficult for her to understand. She is told over and over to share with her sister and friends, except food and drinks! Unfortunately those are the things she is quickest to share with others. As a result, Jellybean has experienced quite a few tastes of things she shouldn't have eaten yet and Cbear may have also inadvertently built up a few of her little buddies' immune systems.
I'm fairly strict about the "no solids before 6 months" rule for babies. At least, that was the plan. Also, we always make Cbear sit in her chair for meal time. My downfall has been that darn snack cup of Cheerios, which she insisted on carrying around for several months like a security blanket (we've finally kicked the habit, thankfully) and getting too relaxed during her afternoon snack, letting her sit on the bench at the table instead of strapped in her booster. As soon as I leave the room to do something, she's off the bench and sharing with Jellybean. The thing that gets me is she KNOWS she's not supposed to feed Jellybean because she runs away if I catch her!
Here are a few of Jellybean's first foods, thanks to big sister. She appears to have no adverse effects, so don't judge me...
1. Cheerios. Several times I've had to dig out those little O's.
2. Graham crackers (The looks on Jellybean's face was priceless...what is this mush?)
3. Whole milk...Jellybean was latched on to that sippy cup like she owned it!
4. Fruit snacks. I just about had a heart attack thinking she would choke but she appeared to really like the flavor and was mad I dug it out of her mouth.
5. Smoothie (I was being lazy and giving Cbear breakfast in a cup with a straw...oops!)
And since everything goes straight into Jellybean's mouth, I suppose I could add that stack of sticky notes and daddy's drill that Cbear gave her...yikes. We really are good parents, I promise...but sometimes are outsmarted by our (almost) two year old. Please tell me we're not alone here!
So, now Cbear is under close supervision or in her booster when eating. But it looks like those efforts were in vain, because I just changed Jellybean's diaper and found...a bit of grass and a small leaf among the stinky contents. That's right...Jellybean found a snack of her own when we were having a picnic last night. Lord help me!
I'm fairly strict about the "no solids before 6 months" rule for babies. At least, that was the plan. Also, we always make Cbear sit in her chair for meal time. My downfall has been that darn snack cup of Cheerios, which she insisted on carrying around for several months like a security blanket (we've finally kicked the habit, thankfully) and getting too relaxed during her afternoon snack, letting her sit on the bench at the table instead of strapped in her booster. As soon as I leave the room to do something, she's off the bench and sharing with Jellybean. The thing that gets me is she KNOWS she's not supposed to feed Jellybean because she runs away if I catch her!
Here are a few of Jellybean's first foods, thanks to big sister. She appears to have no adverse effects, so don't judge me...
1. Cheerios. Several times I've had to dig out those little O's.
2. Graham crackers (The looks on Jellybean's face was priceless...what is this mush?)
3. Whole milk...Jellybean was latched on to that sippy cup like she owned it!
4. Fruit snacks. I just about had a heart attack thinking she would choke but she appeared to really like the flavor and was mad I dug it out of her mouth.
5. Smoothie (I was being lazy and giving Cbear breakfast in a cup with a straw...oops!)
And since everything goes straight into Jellybean's mouth, I suppose I could add that stack of sticky notes and daddy's drill that Cbear gave her...yikes. We really are good parents, I promise...but sometimes are outsmarted by our (almost) two year old. Please tell me we're not alone here!
So, now Cbear is under close supervision or in her booster when eating. But it looks like those efforts were in vain, because I just changed Jellybean's diaper and found...a bit of grass and a small leaf among the stinky contents. That's right...Jellybean found a snack of her own when we were having a picnic last night. Lord help me!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Changes
It's been several weeks since I've written and it seems that life is changing rapidly...just when I think I've gotten things figured out these darn kids go changing their habits and routines again!
My excitement that Jellybean was going to be a super mellow baby has gone by the wayside, but I wouldn't change her at all. Right now she's a busy, busy almost five month old! She's happy most of the time but is rarely still, I'm like, seriously, kid, relax once in a while. Apparently life is just too delightful and she's afraid she'll miss something! I love that about her, though...she gets so excited about every little thing...like bursting out of her skin joyful and she just can't contain it. She's interested in everything big sister is doing and can't wait to be able to do it herself. Yesterday Cbear had left a sippy cup on the floor just out of Jellybean's reach and I caught her trying to crawl toward it...what what?! I managed to grab my phone to record it and after my initial proud mommy moment I thought..."Noooo!" I'm so not ready for her to be mobile yet! It's happening, though...she definitely thinks she's big stuff.
Cbear is being extremely ornery lately and getting into all sorts of shenanigans. I only had to call poison control once (I came in the room and she was sucking on a neon orange highlighter...does this girl have functioning taste buds?) but that's only because I knew the rest of what she's gotten into was nontoxic...including but not limited to diaper rash cream, crayola marker, and a wash rag dunked in toilet water. And that's only what she's eaten, not the messes she's made. Apparently even if you think your house is childproof...think again.
We're in the process of potty-training Cbear (yay!) and she's getting there. One day a couple weeks ago out of the blue she asked to go potty so we're running with it. Along with this, though, has come a new challenge: she's become very fond of taking her clothes off all. the. time. I don't know why. She'll strip down and say things like "I cold! I need blankie!" Um, why don't you just leave your clothes on then? A few times I've been busy and found her naked with puddles nearby...ew! So she's been getting into trouble for stripping down all the time but I'm not sure it's doing any good, because I went into her room to get her up for the morning last week and she was sitting there, naked as a jaybird and super happy about it. When I asked why she did it, with absolutely no remorse she replied, "I naughty!" Sigh. I think I'm going about this wrong. The best one is this, though: I always go check on her before I go to bed and several times I've found her, dead asleep and stark naked. Lucky for her she's too precious when she's asleep for me to be angry. Daddy and I had trouble keeping our laughter quiet as we re-dressed the naked, sleeping baby in her jammies!
My excitement that Jellybean was going to be a super mellow baby has gone by the wayside, but I wouldn't change her at all. Right now she's a busy, busy almost five month old! She's happy most of the time but is rarely still, I'm like, seriously, kid, relax once in a while. Apparently life is just too delightful and she's afraid she'll miss something! I love that about her, though...she gets so excited about every little thing...like bursting out of her skin joyful and she just can't contain it. She's interested in everything big sister is doing and can't wait to be able to do it herself. Yesterday Cbear had left a sippy cup on the floor just out of Jellybean's reach and I caught her trying to crawl toward it...what what?! I managed to grab my phone to record it and after my initial proud mommy moment I thought..."Noooo!" I'm so not ready for her to be mobile yet! It's happening, though...she definitely thinks she's big stuff.
Cbear is being extremely ornery lately and getting into all sorts of shenanigans. I only had to call poison control once (I came in the room and she was sucking on a neon orange highlighter...does this girl have functioning taste buds?) but that's only because I knew the rest of what she's gotten into was nontoxic...including but not limited to diaper rash cream, crayola marker, and a wash rag dunked in toilet water. And that's only what she's eaten, not the messes she's made. Apparently even if you think your house is childproof...think again.
We're in the process of potty-training Cbear (yay!) and she's getting there. One day a couple weeks ago out of the blue she asked to go potty so we're running with it. Along with this, though, has come a new challenge: she's become very fond of taking her clothes off all. the. time. I don't know why. She'll strip down and say things like "I cold! I need blankie!" Um, why don't you just leave your clothes on then? A few times I've been busy and found her naked with puddles nearby...ew! So she's been getting into trouble for stripping down all the time but I'm not sure it's doing any good, because I went into her room to get her up for the morning last week and she was sitting there, naked as a jaybird and super happy about it. When I asked why she did it, with absolutely no remorse she replied, "I naughty!" Sigh. I think I'm going about this wrong. The best one is this, though: I always go check on her before I go to bed and several times I've found her, dead asleep and stark naked. Lucky for her she's too precious when she's asleep for me to be angry. Daddy and I had trouble keeping our laughter quiet as we re-dressed the naked, sleeping baby in her jammies!
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