Look Who I Found in the Apple Bowl

She's a sweet little fairy, whom I found hiding out in my apple bowl in the kitchen. I guess even fairies love apples. :)

She's actually a Christmas present for my daughter, who loves fairies. What little girl DOESN'T?? :) But I thought she was adorable and just had to make her. She even has tiny little green wings!! (And my apologies if you can see the glue where I adhered the bow...it hasn't dried, yet, but I couldn't wait to take her picture.)

Hopefully, more pics to come soon of several other projects. Sorry I've been gone for so long...but it's that time of year, where sickness stalks my daughter home from school...or my boys from shopping carts...sigh... I hate being sick. And I hate it worse when my babies are sick. And one of the boys came down with a fever AGAIN today. Not sure if this is something new or a relapse, but as my husband is suffering from a sore throat and a general lousy feeling, looking like somethng new. sigh. Hopefully, it will be short-lived, and we'll all be okay in time for Thanksgiving. I was sick last year with a sinus infection. Fun stuff.

Hope everyone had a lovely Halloween...I need to post pics of my boys' costumes that I made...okay, put that, too, on my ever-growing to do list as the holidays approach at a mad run! :)

I'm Not a Short Order Cook...I'm a MAMA!

I have picky eaters. Let's just get that out and said. In fact, we have two particularly picky four year olds...which is interesting to me, as they ate almost EVERYTHING when they were babies.

But now...well, they do not eat vegetables. At least, not unless they are french fried or pureed. Odd, I know, the pureed part, but I think it's a texture thing. Or a particularly stubborn, "Hey, don't change what I'm used to," thing. Not really sure. (Though I cannot stand the texture of pears, so I can totally understand that one...)

And so mealtime has been the constant source of an endless stream of frustration and headaches on my end, crying and frustration on their end.

"Come on, take a bite!!! Just one???"

While Heckyl can usually be conjoled into a bite or two, Jeckyl is another story altogether. He would hold an offensive bite in his mouth for a whole evening if you let him. And I don't. I can't stand it. I'm NOT going to do that to him or me, either one. I can't see as it would actually help anything. It certainly wouldn't make him more apt to try another bite, for that I am certain. I know him. I've met him. He is the stubbornest creature I've ever met...and that's saying a lot, as we're all pretty stubborn in this family.

But I've looked up lots of ideas on picky eaters...and am pretty appalled at what I've found.

Soooo many sites suggest just offering the kid the food, then not feeding them again until they eat it. "No kid will starve themself." But seriously??? I have to ask myself. Has it come to that? Really, starve your child until they bend to your will?? Really?

Now, I could see if we lived in an environment where we could not afford other foods or where things just plain weren't available. But in my home, that is not the case. Is it really such a big deal to give a kid a peanut butter and jelly (all fruit spread) sandwich when we have chili? When I was a kid, I didn't eat chili either. Especially when they eat it all, rather than cry and scream and wail over ONE bite of the chili??? Is that really better?

Offer it, sure. Make it available, sure. FORCE them to eat it, rather than starve??? I think not. Because I know how stubborn my child is, how stubborn his uncle and grandfather are, and I guarantee you that all three of them would go to bed hungry, tummy rumbling before they would eat something they hated. (Can't say I feel much different myself.) I know. My father actually did that a lot when he was younger, because he refused to eat certain things. And it NEVER made him want them. These parents who make their kids sit there, but who (the kids, that is) finally relent and eat it so they can have that cookie aren't REALLY picky kids. They're just being difficult. Or maybe they're mildly picky. I have the other extreme. There is no force on earth, save actual starvation, that would force my boys to eat a meal they didn't like.

And so I am done. Done with the arguing and the pleading and the bargaining and the forcing. There's no point. It does no good for anyone, doesn't solve anything and just makes us all fairly miserable at a time that should be a fun together family time. And so, I have decided that it doesn't hurt if my boys like pureed peas or squash. They feed themselves, eat it like applesauce. But they're still getting the NUTRITION. And then they can eat their grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly or pizza or whatever. Does it really have to be that big a deal?

And I try to get creative. I like that book, The Sneaky Chef, though I don't make all the recipes. I like the IDEA of just putting veggies in stuff they already like. I used her white puree (zucchini and cauliflower) last night on their grilled cheese. I spread it over the bread, then toasted the bread, and they were none the wiser. And they like pizza. (I can put zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, and peas all in that good ole' tomato sauce.) And it's not that I'm really trying too hard to HIDE it, just to prepare it in such a way that they LIKE it, and EAT IT readily. That's the main thing. By the way, we LOVE her Sneaky Chef Chili, the adults, that is. LOL And it's much better for me than the canned stuff!!!

All that to say, what's the big deal if my kids are picky? So am I. I don't eat mushrooms or onions, brussel sprouts or asparagus. Big deal. Neither does my daughter, though we both LOVE spinach and other good for us veggies. And my boys are healthy and strong with good appetites, even if they are a bit more finicky (okay, a LOT) than most kids. But so what? Aren't they healthy? Aren't they happy? Isn't THAT what matters, much more than the extra three minutes it will take me to whip up a sandwich or throw some chicken fingers in the oven? No, I'm not a short order cook, I'm a MAMA, and my kids are worth the extra effort.

Little Lunch Bag

This is Little Bit's new lunch box. She didn't really need a new backpack, so I let her pick out a new lunch box...or bag, in this case. She was drawn to the cute little owls immediately. You see, penguins are her favorite animals in the world, but in the absence of them, she is drawn to other birds, esp. owls, which is probably partly my doing, as they are my favorite.

But this entry isn't really about the lunch bag, but more of my feelings as her first day of the next school year looms just around the corner, something this little bag brings to mind as I look at it. Everywhere I go, I hear people talk about how they cannot wait for school to start, that the kids are driving them crazy, and they want to get back to some semblance of normalcy, and get those kids out of the house for a while!

I am not one of those people.

I hate when she has to go back to school. I get giddy over holidays and three day weekends. I love half days, when she comes home early. And more than once have I seriously considered the benefits of home schooling...

Except for one tiny detail. She LOVES school. Loves it the way I did when I was little, loves to learn, loves to explore, loves playing with her friends, and ADORES reading of any kind. (Something this school pushes more than any school I've ever seen in the past...they devote more time to that during the day than all of the other subjects combined.) And so, I smile for her, and tell her I am happy she likes school, that I will miss her, but I am happy for her. And she smiles and hugs me, and tells me she will miss me, too, but she can tell me all about her day when she gets home.

Her first day last year, I cleaned the whole house for being at a loss of what to do with myself. Granted, I got used to it, of course, as we all must, but still... I dread that first day, even as she counts down the days.

We went to orientation, and MY stomach was all in a knot, nearly sick, as I walked into this new, foreign classroom and sat at her little desk to fill out rediculous amounts of paperwork. She went off to explore the room with her brothers, their daddy on their heels to make sure the boys didn't tear the room to pieces. And I sat there and filled out form after form, wondering what this teacher would be like. Would she be kind? Sweet? Or rediculously strict and uncaring. I don't really think the latter. She seemed nice enough, if not a bit rattled by all the parents and kids piling into her room. (It was quite crowded.) Though one or two sentences isn't enough to really know a person or how she will conduct her classroom.

Although, I don't worry of Little Bit's reaction to starting a new year in a classroom with none of her old friends from last year... No, not her. She's the most un-shy person you can imagine. (She makes friends with people in lines at stores...) So bubbly and happy and friendly and smart as a whip, too. She is nice to everyone, says that her whole class are her friends, and that makes me happy, that she will not be the one to judge a person by the color of their hair or style of clothing. If she gets into trouble, it will probably be for talking with a new friend or running because she's so excited, she can't stand it. She wants to explore the world, to learn it all, to see everything. But it's hard for a mother...who has to hear about it later over supper, who used to get to experience everything with her. But I can't go...

And so I can only pack her little lunch bag with a few of her favorite things and hope it brings a smile to her face to know Mama is thinking of her.

And next year, it's the boys' turn. sigh... I think I need a cookie...

Pink

Anyone that knows my daughter knows that nowhere in the words to describe her do the words DAINTY, GENTLE or CAREFUL appear. Seriously, the girl is "rough as the cobb," as my mother would say. She is so tough on shoes and pants, that I'm doing good for either pair to last a month without a hole. I mean, really, how many kids tear up a new pair of shoes from the INSIDE out??? (And how do you do that anyway???) The state of her torn jeans is such that I'm beginning to wonder if they have her playing tackle football at recess...and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if she was. She is equally rough on toys...she even broke the handle of a tupperware teacup I bought her for her toy kitchen. Tupperware. (me shaking my head). And my old talking Bugs Bunny doll that somehow managed to survive years of my own childhood abuse, and many more years in storage in an attic I'm pretty sure gets hot enough to bake cakes...she had it beheaded within five minutes. Not on purpose, mind you. But still.

But even though she is more likely to be seen playing football than dolls, that she is in no way a prissy, girly-girl...still, we have entered the PINK stage.

sigh. She's driving me nuts. Pink PINK PINK....oh, and purple. Purple is okay.

I am NOT a pink kind of person, usually. Not that it's an evil color or anything, only, well, orange is my favorite, and I don't wear a lot of pink, either. When Little Bit was born, I even scoured the stores to find her a nice little coming home dress that was NOT pink!!! (Finally found a cute one that was mint green with tiny little pink ribbon roses at the yoke) And I dressed her in a lot of NOT pink when she was little, though I did not shy away from pink entirely. I'm not, like, insane about it or anything. I just don't really like pink that much.

But now I have to practically argue with her to get her to wear any other color. sigh. Here we go...

Of course, having thought back onto my own childhood, I, too, was pretty much a tomboy. I never wore dresses or my hair down unless we were going to church, and I could often be found outside digging for worms. And even I had a pink and purple stage--I remember it, actually. Though I favored purple, which Little Bit used to. shrug. Maybe she's just up for a change. Of course...once I got a little older, I threw off anything pink...or lacy...or ruffled... Yeah, probably just a phase. :)

Let's hope so...I don't have a lot of pink fabric in my stash. LOL

Twin Re-joining Syndrome

Okay, so my boys have this not so lovely little condition. It's called Twin Re-joining syndrome and it occurs when their now separate molecules attempt to occupy the same space at the same moment, or re-combine with one another. The symptoms are quite stressing as both boys will repeatedly run SMACK into one another on a depressingly frequent basis. And, friends, I'm not talking a little bump on the noggin. I'm talking, full body, head-to-toe impact that sends both of them sprawling flat on their backs, screaming in agony as the new knots start to form on their foreheads. This is, I have decided, their bodies trying to rejoin, as apparently they aren't content to be only near each other and will repeatedly try to occupy the same space at precisely the same moment. As I've said, this occurs sometimes more than once a day, with no warning, whatsoever. It can occur in any area of the house, completely randomly, completely sporadic. And as you can see, quite stressful! I'm not sure what you can do about it, only that hopefully as they grow older, their little twin molecules will become happy in their single little bodies and stop this very frustrating habit. Until then I can only stock up on ice packs. sigh.

Thursday

So, this is what we did this morning. :) Fun stuff.
(I like the blurry action shot, because it's so realistic...they were so excited, they couldn't stand still. :) )

Homemade Pretzels and Recycling

The first photo is of the delicious pretzels we made the other night, hubby and me. He is absolutely addicted to these big soft pretzels but gets mad at the mall when they want $3 or more for one. And so I became determined to make my own at home and dang it, but these were so good, I just had to post a picture. :) Thank you, Mr. Alton Brown!

The next pictures are of my Little Bit and her version of recycling. See, I make felt cookies for my etsy shop, and I had one from long ago that was a trial as I was determining how best to sew up the edges. Anyway, Little Bit wanted it to play with, so I gave it to her. Skip ahead several weeks... So, I have this Kimochi bear thing that my dear friend gave me for Christmas a while back. It's the cutest big green bear that "eats" emotions. The little emotions are little round "people" that fit into his mouth and stomach. My daughter FELL IN LOVE with him and plays with him all the time in my sewing room as I sew (because that room is his home, and he doesn't want to leave it, as she informed me.) Well, as I was cutting off my way too long pants to hem them today, and she asks me for the cut off part. I ask her why, and she tells me that she wants to use it to make arms and legs for her little "K'mochin." (What she calls the people.) At this point, I'm looking at her like she's lost her mind, having no idea what she's talking about. So, she tells me that that's "recycling" when you use something old to make something. To which, of course, I'm thrilled to hear her say. Well, I gave her my fabric marking pen, and she gave it a face, then she told me how to cut out the fabric to make "bumps" for the arms and legs. She wanted to glue them, but I convinced her sewing would be a bit more sturdy, and so, her new "Happy K'mochin" was born. And naturally, happy is a fitting name for him...and her.