Halloween 2011
Our Halloween was busy/fun! What you see up there is Cooper's candy loot. He was so proud of how much candy he collected that he wouldn't let any of us hold his bucket until we had to carry him home at the end of the night. Trick- or- Treating WIPED him out!
What was Cooper for Halloween?
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Pumpkins!
Sometimes you don't need a real pumpkin patch for a Fall photo shoot...
Pumpkins outside the grocery store can be the perfect backdrop.
Don't ya think?
We're actually going to a real pumpkin patch this week. It will be Cooper's FIRST field trip!
To say I'm excited is an UNDERSTATEMENT. I've always LOVED field trips!
STAY TUNED.
The thing about gardening…
I have a small vegetable garden in our backyard and I've been reluctant to post pictures of it because I've been somewhat neglecting it this summer! The thing about gardening is that you need to tend to your plants everyday. You gotta prune, inspect, manage bugs, fertilize and WATER your plants or else everything falls apart. Some days I remember that I need to water my plants when I'm deep in spreadsheet-land at work. I rush home to wilted plants who really don't appreciate night time waterings. Two or three days of neglect and my tomatoes are looking a little droopy with a few extra yellow leaves hanging around. Fortunately there's still a lot of fruit coming off the vines and things are ripening up nicely. Fall is going to be here before I know it so I'm savoring every last bit of tomato goodness while I can! Here's what I've got going on...
This weekend…
I woke up Saturday morning to find my hard drive failed. YIKES! No computer for almost two days made me SUPER productive in the kitchen. With the thought of possibly losing all the data on my computer, I had to get my nervous energy out somehow. So I made stuff, lots of stuff. I tried 5 new recipes (all were good except one) and I can't wait to show you!
Here's a glimpse:
- Fried chicken (my first time making it!)
- Honey Rosemary Lemonade (soo addictive)
- Biscuits (I put too much whole wheat flour in- boo!)
- Cucumber Vodka (infusing as we speak)
- Bacon, Tomato & Iceberg lettuce salad (SCRUMPTIOUS!)
- Two more batches of Strawberry Vodka (I had a party to go to)
- Baked Oatmeal for breakfast this AM (I added nectarines!)
- Tessy's Banana Bread (for dessert tonight & breakfast tomorrow)
Now it's time for me to get reunited with my computer. It's back up and running, but now I have SOOOOOO many photos to edit! So thankful to have my computer back.
What did you eat this weekend?
Tips for Feeding Kids!
Here's a frequently asked question....
How do you get kids to EAT FOOD?
Good question! I'm still venturing through this myself...but here are my tips so far. Let's get started!
FIRST: Keep it interesting! MIX IT UP!
Make silly faces with food. Cut out funny shapes & have them guess what they are!
Cooper ate a WHOLE English cucumber yesterday because I cut it up into triangles, rectangles, squares and circles. SCORE! It's hard to make an oval out of a cucumber. Try it.
Get kids involved in food prep!! Put them to work! They really like eating the food they make!
Teach them how to clean up because a good cook always cleans up. (My mom drilled this into my head!)
Get them excited about eating! Cooper loves going out for Indian food because there's a promise of a mango lassi! He even orders it himself at the restaurant! Teach your kids how to behave in restaurants. Waiters don't bring Mango Lassis (sp?) to misbehaved boys.
Encourage them to try new things. Cooper LOVES spicy foods and found love in a bowl of Chicken Tikka Masala! Who knew? It's only because I told him it was a dip for his naan. He kept dipping the naan into the bowl, then he grabbed his spoon and ate the rest of it!
Turn snack time into a COUNTING GAME!
Cooper can count up to 10 pieces of popcorn! Sometimes he thinks 14 comes after 10. Fourteen is his favorite number this month. He also prefers the letters D & F.
Speaking of letters...Spell words with food! Make them guess the letters. Teach them how to say your nickname because it's cute when they say it in their kid voice. I like when kids say "bean."
Add greens to their smoothies! Tell them it's a MONSTER SMOOTHIE!! Tell them it turns them into a superhero.
When it becomes part of their routine, they'll point out when you forget to put the green stuff in.
Just don't let them touch the blender! That's not safe. And keep the blender unplugged 'til you're ready & and they're out of the way!
Make food part of your drawing!! The turtle I drew sure loves bean crisps! Wouldn't they be cool as tree trunks?
Turn healthy juices into popsicles! Here's a popsicle made with Pineapple Mango Carrot Ginger Juice! Cooper has no idea that he's consuming carrots. He hates carrots. Haha sucker!
If a child is hungry, they'll eat! Don't force food on them. They don't like that. It's a control thing.
They like to show you who's boss and it's definitely not Tony Danza.
Let them see if hummus is a good face moisturizer and try not to cringe in the process! It's important for them to explore the taste & texture of food...even if it ends up jammed into their ears! Always do this before bath time!
A few more tips:
-Write down a list of all the things your child eats. Refer to the list when you're in a food rut. You might forget something! Pull something out of your bag of tricks.
-If they're not touching their food ask them "How does a SHARK eat an apple?" Watch them show you. They like doing this. Always go for the powerful eating animals. Tigers, rhinos, lions & bears work well too.
-Give them the foods they're least likely to eat FIRST! If they're hungry enough, they'll eat just about anything. If I give Cooper a piece of buttered toast first, he'll eat it, then ask for MORE TOAST while totally ignoring the bowl of strawberries on his tray. Greedy! Also related--Don't give them too many options!
-Let your child watch their friend eat broccoli. It's a positive spin on peer pressure!
-Don't panic when they don't try something. Keep at it! (I'm still trying to grasp this one!)
And there you have it!! A few tips based on feeding my almost 3 year old.
Do you have any tips? I bet you do! Let's discuss!
TWO years ago!
June 5, 2009 Little Bebe Cooper & Claire
June 07, 2011 Cooper & Claire!!
We had a little impromptu meet up with my good friend Jessica and her daughter Claire this week! They were visiting from Portland! Even though they haven't seen each other in awhile, Cooper & Claire immediately picked up where they left off....just like me and Jessica. I love that in a friendship. Cooper woke up from every nap this week looking for his "Cware." The sweetness!
Lock your daughters up because my son is a chick magnet.
Mother’s Day Weekend 2011
We had a pretty busy Mother's Day weekend! Saturday morning we went to the Farmer's Market so I could gather a few things for what I was cooking this weekend. Nothing like fresh beets, fresh baked bread, lettuce, parsley & fresh chicken eggs to inspire a weekend menu!
After Cooper's nap, we went to our friend's fundraiser party in their backyard! They've got a bunch of chickens! You see that black & white one? Her name is Oreo. She was my favorite.
