Nobody Ever Feeds Me...

Just when you thought you had this whole parenting thing figured out, your little ones decide to change the rules. Your perfectly scheduled meal times become pointless because your little one just isn't hungry. Well, they aren't hungry until 15 minutes AFTER the dishes are cleaned away. When the dishes are put away and the mess is cleaned, you are suddenly bombarded with pleas of hunger as if starvation is imminent.

What is the busy mother to do? It isn't really possible to be a short order cook throughout the entire day. There is work to be done and messes to be cleaned. Your children simply can not eat 24 hours a day.

Or can they?

What if there was a way to satisfy the constant hunger of your child AND maintain your sanity?

Consider introducing the grazing tray to your daily routine for the sake of every body's happiness. Young children prefer to graze throughout the day instead of trying to eat larger meals only three times a day. In fact, most medical professionals recommend eating several small meals per day in lieu of the more common bigger meals that most people are accustomed to. This method of grazing allows the body to maintain a regular sugar level and helps prevent overeating and weight gain.

I touched briefly on the grazing tray previously in my Lunch Ideas post. However, I will give a more detailed description and instructions today.

To begin with, you will need to select a container for your tray. This can be as simple or as complex as you choose. Muffin tins or divided plates are good options. A collection of small bowls is also a good choice.

Then you need to consider what food you will place on your grazer's tray. This depends largely on the types of foods your child likes to eat. Temperature requirements of the food will also need to be considered.

For Kira, I set up a plastic shoe box (found at the dollar store) filled a few inches with water. I set that bowl in the freezer so the bottom would be iced. Then, in the morning, I put smaller bowls on top of the ice and filled those bowls with her foods for the day. I laid a towel on the table to put the grazing tray on. The towel also did double duty as a cover for the food to keep the cold air in and the cats out. Kira was able to easily open her tray to nibble and close her tray for later. The towel prevented a mess from the condensation and the ice kept the food at the right temperature to prevent spoilage.

For older children, you can set their grazer tray in the refrigerator on the lower shelf so they can help themselves whenever they get hungry. Of course, if you choose foods that do not require being cooled then you won't need to worry about ice and refrigerators. (This will also limit your choices...so I prefer the extra effort to keep the tray cool.)

If you have multiple small children, be sure to have a separate tray for each child. This way you can tailor each tray to the child's food preferences AND you eliminate the no sharing arguments that would be inevitable if there was only one tray. Color coding is a good idea for making sure even the youngest child knows which tray is hers.

Now that I've told you HOW to make your grazer's tray, you need to know what to put IN your tray for optimum toddler happiness. Here is a list of possible suggestions for what the little people in my house have enjoyed munching on. This list is not everything that you could include, just a few ideas to get your mind going in the right direction.

Choose a few items from the list. Be sure to vary your selections so your little one has plenty of options. Include one or two fruits, one or two veggies, one or two meats, and one or two cheeses.

-apple slices (sliced very thin)
-match stick carrots (baby carrots for older children)
-broccoli florets (steamed for younger children)
-small sandwich triangles (pbj, cheese spread, etc)
-lunch meat roll ups
-cheese cubes or slices
-pickles
-olives (if your child happens to like them... )
-jello
-crackers
-goldfish
-dry cereal
-grapes (cut in half or quarters for younger children)
-Vienna sausages (rinsed thoroughly)
-cheese sticks
-strawberries
-cantaloupe
-tomatoes
-cucumbers
-canned fruits
-applesauce
-yogurt
-pretzels
-nuts (for older children)
-raisins
-chocolate (yes, a little bit of something chocolate, perhaps some m&ms... chocolate is always a good addition to any day)

Also, be sure to continue with your regular lunch schedules. While it is good that your child has a tray to graze from, it is also ideal to include a big meal during the day to make sure your child gets a well balanced diet.

You will find that the small amount of effort put forth to set this system up will be well worth your investment. The payoff will include a self-sufficient child and a bit of extra time for you because you won't be fixing 2nd and 3rd lunches throughout the day. When your little angels start saying how hungry they are, you can simply direct them to their snack trays.

Oh yes, one last thought, be sure to vary the contents from day to day. If you use ham and cheddar today, use turkey and Swiss tomorrow. Grapes today? Strawberries tomorrow. Don't get into the habit of putting the exact same foods in the tray every day because then your little ones will get bored and start complaining again.

Hey hey hey...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

I hope everybody is having a wonderful Father's Day today. My girls have been contentedly ignoring their dad all day long. It has been quite amusing to see him trying so hard to get them to play with him when they just turn and run away.

Now, at 5:30 in the afternoon, Marisa has finally deemed him worthy of her attention. She went and climbed up in his lap and is currently allowing him to hold and snuggle her. There's no telling how long she will allow him this luxury. She is not a Daddy's baby.

Good day to all...

Trust Your Instincts

Today I read about a most horrifying story - the parent's worst nightmare.

Lisa has written on her page about something that happened to her and her son just a couple of days ago. I feel that every parent should read her story because it is important to understand just how easily you or your child can be targeted for victimization. I will, however, give a brief summary here.

Lisa went out to jog with her son, who followed behind her just a few short minutes later. She noticed a car with a guy acting a bit strange. When she looked to see what he was watching, it just happened to be her son. Then she noticed another car on the other end of the street, also watching her son. Her story details the events that followed and the measures that she took to protect herself and her child.

The reason I am telling you about this is simple. You should always trust your instincts. If you think something is not right, no matter how silly it may fell, trust yourself and react accordingly. Had Lisa dismissed her concerns as being paranoid or silly, she may well have lost her child to the predators that were stalking him.

Here are a few tips to help you protect yourself and your children while you live your lives to the fullest.

1) Trust your instincts. Yes, I know I already said that, but it bears repeating. Your body is geared to pick up on the slightest irregularity in your surroundings. You may not realize this, but when you travel a certain path frequently your body remembers that path and is capable of operating on auto-pilot. This is how you can run your 5 mile trek (if you happen to be crazy enough to run that far) without really putting much thought into it. Your body already knows the way. So if your body tells you something is off, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!

2) Know your area. Be aware of the surrounding area and what is normal for that area. It is also important to know your way around so you can quickly formulate an escape plan should you realize that you are being targeted. The fact that Lisa was aware from the beginning that the guy in the car was behaving oddly may well have saved her son's life. She was aware of her surroundings even though she was listening to her music. (Big Kudos to Lisa...)

3) Play the "what if" game. Stop to consider several scenarios and then determine what you would do in each one. This is also a good game to play with your child. It will help you develop a plan for these situations so that if you find yourself involved in something like this you will be able to react without much thought. It also teaches your mind to consider the options quickly so if you are caught up in a situation that is not one that you've considered, your mind will already have the skills to find a way out.

4) Don't panic. When Lisa realized that her son was being stalked, she could have panicked easily. I think the point where she realized there were two vehicles, one in front of them and one behind them, that it would have been very easy to feel trapped and unable to escape. She kept her head and used her senses to react quickly to the situation. Decide at the very beginning that you will win this fight and you have a far better chance of escape.

5) Teach your children from an early age about predators. I know this is sometimes difficult because we want to protect our children and maintain their innocence. However, failing to educate your child about certain dangers makes them a far easier target. Make sure you teach your kids about kidnappers and how to get away if somebody tries to kidnap them. Be sure to include lessons about Good Touch / Bad Touch and talk about that frequently. Predators often find a way to be close to the child they target through family contact or close friends. Let your child know that NOBODY is allowed to touch them in that way. Teach your child to talk to you about any situation that arises that makes your child feel uncomfortable. Just like Lisa, your child should learn to trust his instincts.

Laughter - Not Always the Best Medicine

It isn't nice to laugh at your children when they are afraid, or when they get hurt. Sometimes, though, even the best mom just can not stop herself from laughing at her child's mishaps and adventures.

Last night we had a pretty good thunder storm here. There was a great deal of noise and light, but very little rain. When this first started, the girls were happily playing and listening to whatever nonsense was on the TV. I was vaguely aware that there was lightening, but it didn't really sink in that we were about to have a storm.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, the house was bombarded with thunder that was strong enough to shake the walls and rattle the chandeliers. Poor Marisa screamed and cried and came running to me, of course, with all the dramatics of a terror stricken female. Her journey across the room was marked with continued yelps of fear and shock, just cute enough to send even the most stellar mom into fits of giggles.

I couldn't help it. I tried so hard not to laugh because I realized just how terrified she truly was, but I failed in my attempts to hold the giggles at bay. She was just so darn cute when she threw her hands in the air and yelped, then jumped clear across the room just to reach the relative safety of Mommy's arms where she knew that she would be protected from whatever evil had just descended upon our home. Then, each time the thunder would ring through, she would whimper a bit and snuggle in just a little closer, as if the only thing standing between her and certain doom was my arm. It was sweet and adorable and funny. Yet for Marisa it was a scary experience.

There are times when we really shouldn't laugh, but the humor of the situation is just too overpowering to prevent our natural inclinations. Children offer so many opportunities to find the humor in the simplest little things that we tend to overlook in our daily lives. To me, it was yet another thunder storm that just might provide us with some much needed rain. It took the innocence and outlook of a young child to remind me just how scary the big world can be when you have no control and no idea about what is going on around you.

So, as you find yourself laughing at your child's issues, be sure to take a moment to consider how your child might be perceiving the situation. That might help in your attempts to manage your laughter, at least until you can remove yourself from your child's company. If we must laugh at them, they don't always have to know about it, right?

Bored Games

Summer is here. The kids are out of school. There is "nothing" to do. Boredom has officially set in.

How does a cool mom battle the dog days of boredome? Well, if you're lucky, your children enjoy playing board games. The best games are those that are highly involved and interactive AND take a long time to finish.

Stock your closet with some of the classic games that have been proven to entertain children through the ages. Monopoly, Clue, Sorry, and Scrabble are some of my personal favorites. However, don't forget the other games that you should have, particularly if you have younger children. Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, and Hi Ho Cherrio are fun for the little ones.

Cranium and Trivial Pursuit are good choices for family game night.

Come to think of it, having these games on hand can be highly useful in the event of a storm - such as we have here right now - to help keep children distracted from the house shaking thunder booms.

Got to go ---

Happy Birthday

So, even after sending me gifts and spending time talking with me on the phone, my new friend failed to tell me that she had a birthday coming up.

Imagine my surprise today when I visited her page only to see that today was her birthday.

You know, she could've told me. I would've done something special for her.

Well, even though she didn't tell me that today was her birthday and I had to go find out the hard way ----

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOCCERMOM!

Push the Red Button

There comes a point in every child's life when the desire to accomplish tasks without assistance is the most important goal in the world. If you happen to have a child who is in this phase, then you will fully understand the value of the "red button."

My dear Kira just loves to do things all by herself. Her shoes, her clothes, and most of all - her movies. She wants to turn the TV and DVD player on. She wants to put the movies into the machine. She wants to push play.

That play button is where my big dilemma occurred. Every time she wanted to push play, I showed her the play button so she could push it. Every time I put my finger anywhere near that button, she would have these moments of tragedy where she was certain that I was going to push the button before she could get her hands close enough to push play. No matter how many times I showed her the button, she just couldn't remember which button makes the movies play.

Well, no more of that nonsense for me. I have the Red Button now.

Some time ago I read an article about this very issue. The mother in that article decided to put a sticker directly above the play button in order to teach her child which button to push without requiring adult assistance. Stickers do not work in my house. My two little angels would quickly embark on a quest to remove each and every sticker from wherever I might have placed it, only to reposition said sticker in some undesirable location - probably on my kitchen floor or some other spot that would render the sticker equally difficult to remove.

In a stroke of genius, I came up with the perfect solution. I would paint the play button, thus identifying the button for everybody who needs to know how to make the videos play. Having decided on my course of action, I found the brightest pink nail polish that I had laying around my house.

You notice I said "PINK" nail polish, right?

So after I found my nail polish, I went straight away to the DVD player. Of course, I can't do anything around here without an audience so I was immediately joined by my entourage and bombarded with questions about whatever I might be doing.

I very carefully opened my bottle of pink nail polish and applied a first coat of 'paint' to the play button. The first coat was left to dry for a few minutes while I explained to Miss Kira that I was painting the Play button so she would be able to push play without having to ask me which button to push. She was thrilled at this new development and, of course, asked if she could help me paint the play button. Um - NO!

After the first coat of paint dried, I applied a second coat just to be sure that the color would be dark enough to be seen by two little angels whenever they wanted to play their movies.

When the pink nail polish was completely dry, I discovered that I had a red play button. It seems that the silver color of the button combined with the pink nail polish resulted in a red button. At any rate, my goal was fully accomplished. I have not had to tell Kira which button to push in over a week now. To add to my cleverness, Marisa now goes around saying "red button" and also enjoys pushing the play button to restart a movie that has ended. I managed to remove one of the most annoying parts of my day by simply altering the appearance of the button.

As an added benefit I don't have to bend down and get really close to the machine anymore just to read the teeny tiny little letters and symbols when I'm trying to figure out which button to push. I only have to push the red button, and even though it is small, it is very easy to see now.

The funniest part was explaining to Randall that there was a perfectly good explanation for having a red button on the DVD player, and that I really had not lost my mind.