Time keeps on ticking…

Posted on October 22, 2008

Keeping up with the chaos.

Posted on October 22, 2008

As I sit here, on my slightly stained sofa, I look around at the chaos that one two year old, two cats, and two adults can create if things aren’t kept in check.  I have toys littering the floor (even though we picked up before naptime) laundry waiting in the laundry basket, dishes waiting in the sink, and a plan to order pizza for dinner.  My house looks like a tornado ran through it.

Now, I know Ellen is not going to believe me, she always insists that my house is always so clean.  But, if she were here right now, she would understand that even I, organization queen and self confessed type A, can have an off week.  Or an off month.  Sigh.

When I was about seven months pregnant, John and I decided to hire a maid.  Our house responsibilities are pretty equal, we always had this understanding that he took care of the outside of the house and any of the general maintenance, and I took care of the laundry and cleaning.  Cooking we shared until I became a SAHM.  But, when I was seven months pregnant, we decided we were going to move to New Jersey and put our house on the market.  There was NO WAY I was going to be able to work full time, and keep the house in the condition it needed to be to “show” well during open houses and random realitor visits when I was as large as a planet.

I loved Mary.  To me, she was more than just a hired maid, she was a miracle worker.  She could clean my entire house up to the standards that I felt it should be in two hours flat.  The exact level of cleanliness that it took me four to five hours to do by myself.  I always joked about how I wanted to follow her to see exactly how she did it.

It’s no longer a joke.  I really wish I knew all of her “trick’s of the trade.”  When I deep clean my house, it takes me HOURS and I just don’t have the energy or the time to devote to keeping it up.  And yet, here I am again, annoyed that things aren’t exactly the way I want them.  Wishing I had enough money to justify the cost of a monthly maid.  And knowing that this is all on me.

Sigh.  Okay, I am done feeling sorry for myself.  Here’s a moment of levity:

Conversation with a toddler.

Posted on October 21, 2008

I am totally and unabashedly stealing Ellen’s post idea.

Chloe and I were putting together a puzzle with a picture of a rocket ship on it.

I pointed to the fire and explained, “That’s the fire that helps push the rocket ship into the sky!”

Chloe: Fire is orange!

Mommy: You’re right, fire is orange and very hot hot hot.

Chloe: Yes, fire is hot hot hot.  I not eat fire.  Too hot.

Mommy: Yeah, we can’t eat fire, its too hot.  And it doesn’t taste very good.

Chloe: Astronauts eat fire on MOOOOOON!

Mommy: No, honey astronauts don’t eat fire, astronauts eat “astronaut food.”  Or space food.

Chloe: Yes, astronaut food.  Chloe eat Chloe food.  Mommy eat Mommy food!

Now, how can you argue with that logic?

So, You Think You Can Dance?

Posted on October 19, 2008

She is saying, “I did it, Mommy!”  Over, and over and over.  In case it was hard to hear.

Thompson Park Day

Posted on October 19, 2008

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Eating Habits

Posted on October 19, 2008

In several aspects of typical toddler behavior, we are extremely lucky with Chloe.  She is generally mild mannered, very sweet and cuddly, her “fits” don’t last long and are easily controlled through hugs and threats of “time out”, she is skilled in basic manners, and seems to enjoy learning new things.

However, her eating habits are the stuff of nightmares.  Now, I am willing to take quite a bit of blame with this personality trait.  I mean, I am a vegetarian primarily because I never really liked the taste of meat.  Her daddy is also picky when it comes to food.  Together, we created one heck of a picky eater.

This being said, I never really worry about Chloe’s nutrition.  Our pediatrician has assured me that she is getting everything she needs (and this is even after I described what she is willing to eat in detail.)

She gets all of her fruits and vegetables by pure deception on my part.  I give her juice laced with vegetables (the product is called “Vruit.”)  I sneak fruits and vegetables into pancakes and muffins because the ONLY meal she is adventurous with is breakfast.  I am lucky, she’ll eat any kind of pancake, muffin, waffle, and cereal.  (She’s been known to enjoy a snack of Frosted Mini Wheats, sans milk.  She just crunches away!)  I recently discovered “Veggie Crisps,”  chips made with vegetable puree.  And the only mac and cheese she will eat is geared for the toddler pallet, and has carrots in it.

When it comes to protein, she gets everything she needs from milk, yogurt smoothies, cheese, chicken nuggets and fish sticks.  That’s it.  I never intended Chloe to be a vegetarian, so I have tried various other meats, but she won’t even TRY them.

It is just so frustrating that the child will not TRY anything new.

I can’t tell you how many people have given me suggestions on how to improve the variety of her diet.  And, I have been more than willing to attempt a majority of these suggestions.  Our latest (and thus far failed) attempt is to only cook one meal for dinner, and she is given what we are eating.  Our child is a rare breed of stubborn, and she will opt to go to bed hungry then even take a SINGLE bite of what we offer her.  Then, she eats like a maniac the next day, only to refuse to eat dinner again that night.

I have limited or omitted any snacks after 3pm (we eat dinner around fiveish.)  As I mentioned, she is only offered what John and I are eating.  And all we ask is for ONE bite.  My philosophy has always been:  One bite, and then “No, Thank you.”  She has, thus far, refused.  I even tried my somewhat pushy method of getting some of the food on her finger or on her lips so she has to lick it off, and still, she refuses.

So, this is my question:  Should we just accept that she is going to be a picky eater, and try to get the nutrition into her that we know she will eat, or do we continue to push food with the hopes that eventually, one day she’ll give in and try it)?  And if we should keep pushing it, any suggestions on how to make this more successful?

My gut tells me that Chloe is WAY too stubborn, and will only do things when she is ready.  But, I also don’t want to bring up a child that is allowed to “call the shots.”  And, quite frankly, I am tired of making two dinners every night.