more food lies

Feeding my kid doctored fruit puree in a syringe under the pretext that it's vitamins isn't the worst thing I could be doing. And now I know for sure. Babble had this funny post about the food lies we tell our kids...like all the nutrients in bread are all in the crust and if you swallow gum it'll stay in your stomach for seven years.
Here are a few more of mine:
All the chocolate bars sold at grocery store checkout stand are so big, they're just for daddies. You'll get one when you're a daddy.
Skittles (and all other candy) are just for big people with big teeth. Candy is so hard you wouldn't be able to chew through it.
All protein is chicken, including some really good pulled pork B. ate on vacation last year.
Then of course there's the stuff I just don't tell him about. For the rest of his life, this kid will grow up thinking Nutella should taste like peanut butter and mac & cheese should taste like cauliflower.

it's the little things

I stumbled across this great blog post on HelloGiggles about the little things you can do for yourself as you're wiping up poop, fixing snacks and picking up toys to add some romance to your day and feel like you're more than just "mom." I am the first to admit I'm pretty much swallowed up in the universe that is my kid. It's like living with the most popular kid in school where EVERYTHING is about them ALL of the time. And to be totally honest I love when B.'s friends say "Excuse me, B.'s mom" as if that were my name. But I totally get where this mom is coming from. I happen to feel better about myself if I take the time to blow out my hair in the morning. Even if I'm wearing sweats and no makeup, clean straight hair just makes me feel more special. So here are her (paraphrased) suggestions for a good mood day:

• Wear red lipstick around the house
• Use a French press to brew your coffee
• Clean house to audiobooks
• Have a glass of wine with lunch
• Get regular manicures (I'd have to say pedicures!)
• Use Christmas lights year round
• Buy fresh flowers every week

Got any others to add to the list?

kitchen negotiations with the picky kid

B. came up with an interesting barter this weekend. Out of the blue he asked to eat some fruits and vegetables (which ended up being one bite of carrot and some fruit puree) in exchange for a later bedtime. Works for me. We barely even enforce a bedtime as it is. (We aim for 8:30ish but don't actually get strict unless it's approaching double digits.) So for the last three nights we've bullied him into eating fruit puree as soon as it gets dark...no matter what time it is.
And then this morning he asked to make sweet potato pancakes. He hasn't eaten pancakes in forever but likes to scam me into getting down a bunch of pots and pans just so he can measure and stir ingredients. Then once I've plated the pancakes he refuses to eat them and walks away. Which is exactly what he did this morning. But I've lowered my high-falutin' standards A LOT. So I pulled out my ace card. A jar of sprinkles. And offered pancakes with syrup and sprinkles. Offer accepted. I'm not sure there's a kid alive who wouldn't eat something covered in rainbow sprinkles.
It almost seems like we're making some strides in the food department. Then again, I just tried to convince him to eat a bite of potato for dinner. Plain frigging potato. And he refused. So we're not celebrating just yet.

confetti art is perfect for sick days

Thanks to Jen for the contact paper collage idea, which we executed with leftover confetti, sequins and glitter. And to B. for reminding me that he knows all about confetti from Shel Silverstein's Spaghetti poem. And for not actually wanting to throw spaghetti.

Spaghetti, spaghetti, all over the place,

Up to my elbows—up to my face,

Over the carpet and under the chairs,

Into the hammock and wound round the stairs,

Filling the bathtub and covering the desk,

Making the sofa a mad mushy mess.

The party is ruined, I’m terribly worried,

The guests have all left (unless they’re all buried).

I told them, “Bring presents.” I said, “Throw confetti.”

I guess they heard wrong

‘Cause they all threw spaghetti!

how my kid will heart NYC

Growing up I read a lot of stories that were New York-based. Ironically never Eloise which might be the most fabulous of all. But the books definitely left an impression on me--NYC kids always seemed to be having more adventures and less adult supervision than anyone else--and I will always be a New Yorker at heart no matter where I'm living.
On our reading list right now is Ira Sleeps Over. It's a fairly lengthy debate on whether or not to take Tah Tah the teddy bear to Ira's first sleepover and I'm always impressed B. has the patience and appreciation to sit through this book.
Up next will be Lyle, Lyle Crocodile. (Also by Bernard Waber.) And then there might be a slight delay before we get to the non-picture books: Harriet the Spy, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and the so very great From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler but I can't wait to read these to B.
One guaranteed love of New York City...coming up.
PS. Please let me know if I'm missing any other good ones!

what the picky kid is eating these days

Nutella and peanut butter sandwiches. Every morning. And sometimes for lunch and dinner, too. He never gets sicks of them. White rice. Buttered noodles. Mac and cheese (with hidden cauliflower puree) on occasion. Quesedillas with pinto beans and avocado (I'd feed him this every meal if he would eat it that often). Pizza. Cheese crackers. And that is literally it. Seven items. Over and over and over again.