is it just a california thing?

I assumed everybody was feeding their kids quesedillas until I talked to friends elsewhere and found out that wasn't the case. So maybe it's just a Southern California thing? Lucky for us. I like it so much better than a grilled cheese sandwich. For some reason the pickiest kid in the world doesn't mind having his quesedilla stuffed with beans, chicken and cheese and topped with mashed avocado. It's pretty much a perfect meal (minus any "real" vegetables). I don't think I even had Mexican food until I was a teenager so I'm fascinated that B. enjoys this stuff. He is a California kid through and through. It also makes me wonder what people in other parts of the world feed their toddlers. If anyone is reading from outside L.A., let me know your local specialty?!

what did our parents do without iPhones?!

While parentally questionable, I let B. watch my iPhone during lunch today and managed to get a well balanced meal of chicken and zucchini pasta into him. Literally fed him every bite while he focused on watching videos of himself playing. Oh and I even used the phone as a bargaining ploy to get the first bite of pasta into his mouth (he used to love it but now seems resistant to anything green except avocado). So his mind might rot a little but the rest of him will be in great shape! All in all been a good food day so far - sweet potato pancakes for breakfast and 3 fruit pouches (mango, banana, orange) for a snack!

foodie burnout

I get so wrapped up in what B. eats that it really bums me out when he won't eat stuff. Like Tuesday, when I made lowfat/lowsugar carrot cupcakes and from-scratch fish sticks per Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook. My first mistake was overcooking. It just raised the stakes too high. So when B. insisted on a bagel and cream cheese for lunch I was fuming that he wouldn't eat the fish or, later, the cupcakes. I got so annoyed I had to make myself a drink once he was down for a nap. Vodka and lemonade. The worst part is B. seemed to enjoy hanging out with tipsy mommy when he got up way more than he enjoys sober, no TV, eat your vegetables mommy. I am absolutely on my way to acceptance that he is a picky kid but in the meantime I will only try one new thing per week (at most) because I am way too emotionally tied to the food I make and take each rejection personally.
On the plus side, I have figured out he enjoys beef burgers way more than turkey burgers. I made sliders Wednesday night and had to coax him into eating the turkey with a TON of ketchup but he ate a leftover beef burger for lunch Thursday without bribing. Of course I wasn't here to see it happen but the babysitter swears it happened.
Oh and it was a quiet work week so I cracked open B.'s baby book for the first time in 9 months to try and record some recent memories and found this entry from when he was 8-months-old: "apples, pears, bananas, carrots, peas, broccoli, yams, butternut squash, parsnips, sweet potatoes." Yeah, that probably didn't help the frustration level.

breakfast is king

For some reason, breakfast is the one meal of the day that isn't a battle in our house. I consider this a total fluke since I put in the same amount of effort all day long and have come to accept that B. is a picky eater no matter what I do. But breakfast is a breeze. Oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar (to which I'm considering covertly adding apple sauce), scrambled eggs with cheese, sweet potato pancakes, bananas (on a good day), cinnamon French toast. And he eats a lot of whatever I put on his highchair tray. The only thing I have to take off the list is yogurt since he now only wants to eat the peach puree that gets mixed with his Greek yogurt. Oh and on a parallel note we just started reading Green Eggs and Ham this week. I'm gonna give it another week before I try serving up spinach infused scrambled eggs! The wheels are always turning in my head!

mother's day

My baby loves Bay Cities bread. Yay! (But no interest in the accompanying picnic of prosciutto di Parma, caprese salad or steamed asparagus. LOL. Also ignored breakfast pastries from Amandine but liked the fancy pizza from Stella Rossa for dinner. Either way, great food day for me!)

pea battle

Depending on which astrological calendar you follow, B.'s an Aries or maybe a Taurus. Either way, the otherwise perfect kid can be one stubborn toddler. So last week we had our first vegetable standoff. It seemed like the right time to start since he now understands the fine art of negotiation. Sleep doesn't come without at least one Gabba episode and multiple books. So I held him hostage in the highchair for 3 peas. Then I cut it down to 2 peas. Then I offered a choice of 2 peas or 1 bite of carrot or 1 bite of zucchini. He lasted 40 minutes without blinking an eye before I decided it was time to get on with our day. So I explained that I would be wrapping those two peas in mac and cheese and he could get down after eating the noodles. Done deal. I've had the best intentions of repeating the same steps every day since. Hasn't happened yet but I swear it will the next time I have a spare 40 minutes.

being judgy

Everytime we meet a new challenge with B. I feel guilty about the superior mom attitude I've had at times. For example, sorry for judging anyone who brings their kid to the park in pajamas. I get it now. Sorry for the dirty looks to the parents walking their kids around the Promenade after dark. Last night, we decided to let B. set his own bedtime because we just didn't have the energy to do battle. He lasted until 10:56 p.m. WTF?! And sorry for being judgy if you couldn't wrestle the pacifier out of your kid's mouth before leaving the house. Two year olds are willful. 'Nuff said.