MommyCoddle

random bits

** Thank you for all your food suggestions. It is amazing to see how many of you have had children who struggle similarly when they are hungry. And remember that (*cough* crazy) idea I had about combining your ideas all in one place? Not gonna happen. It would take me weeks, and that would be if I ignored every other responsibility I have in life. But read the comments because there are some fabulous suggestions, recipes, cookbooks, links, etc.

**You probably noticed that since the new year I have a few sponsor ads appearing on my sidebar. I don't want to get into the whole "having ads on blogs" discussion, but I want to let you all know that I am slowly moving towards having sponsors that are etsy sellers, small businesses, handmade goods, websites, etc. It is important to me, to share sites and shops with you, that I enjoy or that inspire me. I have a few new sponsors already lined up, but if you have any interest in having a sponsor spot, please send me an email, and I'll offer you the details. To get the ball rolling, I'm offering the spots for half off during the month of March.

**Mary has gone on a pants strike. Dresses. All day. All the time. I did manage to get her in pants today because all her dresses were dirty. I told her if she didn't put on pants, she couldn't have lunch with her Pa. It worked like a charm. But, as if I weren't having enough problems finding appropriate clothes from my children already, she's now narrowed my shopping options to dresses-only. Hanna Andersson is having a dress sale right now. Kyrie sent me a link to this site, Basic Brilliance to me which looks great, too. So, I'm back on the hunt for clothes once again.

**As of 3:30 this afternoon, our hens have given us 79 eggs. Wow.

**I forgot to share the great gifts that Erin and Jennifer gave me during our bloggy weekend. Erin gave the girls these zip pouches with colored pencils (and chubby crayons for Elizabeth) and moleskine journals. I'm seriously jealous. And she gave me one of her fabric camera straps. (Am I lucky or what?) and stitched up a set of these napkins. I think they are pretty much perfect for our chicken-loving family. Thank you, Erin. And Jennifer gave me this "crazy" 🙂 quilted pillow–just like the ones I have admired on her blog for quite awhile. It is the perfect squishyness for bedtime reading. Thank you, Jennifer. I love it. And yes, it is still in my room. It hasn't been stolen, yet…..

(photos by Emma' 4-H leader)

Grand Champion

**Over the weekend, Emma's 4-H "Meal Appeal" group gave their demonstration in front of the judges at 4-H Week at the local Mall. The group of 4-Hers presented a themed recipe and each shared something about the ingredients they were adding. They had a "ski lodge" theme, and made chili. Emma was salt and pepper and she shared some facts about the spices. She also served the judges the chili at the end of the recipe. And guess what? She came home with Grand Champion! She was pretty pleased with herself, to say the least. And proud of that purple rosette. I was pretty proud, too.

**As of 3:30 this afternoon, our hens have given us 79 eggs. Wow.

(photos by Emma' 4-H leader)

Grand Champion

13 Comments

protein + whole grains

For some reason, my eldest child seems to always give me a rough go of things for several weeks right around her birthday. I remember it when she turned six. And it happened again this January when she turned seven. Maybe it's coincidence. Maybe not. But this year, to be honest, it was a particularly tough several weeks.

It was one of those parenting seasons where I began to question all the decisions I was making for her, wonder if I was somehow "wronging" her, and how I'd failed as a parent. I found myself faced with situations where there was nothing in my parenting bag of tools and tricks that seemed to work.

Eventually, things began to settle down. I think a big part of it, was my change in perspective, which seemed to have a calming effect on our home.

Dan and I also began to notice a pattern. Many of our tough episodes with her seemed to be related to food–whether she was flat-out hungry or coming off some sort of sugary-high. So my focus began to shift, and I realized that I needed to start making some eating habit changes around our house.

On one particularly rough evening, I called Emily and we talked about all this. By the end of the conversation, she encouraged me to focus on two things: getting protein in at every meal (and snack), and making the transition to more whole wheat and grains.

I also started counting points, like I mentioned before, which always helps me be more mindful of where the calories are going, and keeps more filling foods in our diet.

And I have to tell you, the changes have been really good. The rough season appears to be behind us. And on the rare occasion that it shows its ugly head, she's in a much better place to be able to deal with it, and move on. Me, too.

So I'm back to meal-planning. I'm getting very familiar with my Cooking Light magazine again and delving into out my grandmother's old Moosewood Cookbook.

But you all never fail me…what are some of your best high protein snacks, or whole grain meals and dishes? What's your favorite way to cook with beans? What resources, magazines or cookbooks do you like best? (have you seen this super natural recipe search?? It's great!) I'd love to have some more recipes and ideas in my repertoire, I think most of us would. Share a link, a post, a recipe. And hopefully, I'll have some time to combine them all into one place so that they are easily accessible for all of you, too.

Thank you, friends.

Eventually, things began to settle down. I think a big part of it, was my change in perspective, which seemed to have a calming effect on our home.

I also started counting points, like I mentioned before, which always helps me be more mindful of where the calories are going, and keeps more filling foods in our diet.

So I'm back to meal-planning. I'm getting very familiar with my Cooking Light magazine again and delving into out my grandmother's old Moosewood Cookbook.

Thank you, friends.

41 Comments

out and about

bloggers, streamside

This weekend, Emily and I had the pleasure of hosting Erin. I hate to try to sum up the weekend with lots of gushing and ranting about how wonderful it was, because it just wouldn't quite capture it all. Spending time with Erin was easy and comfortable. Like we'd been doing this for years….old and dear friends.

Saturday, everyone came to Thomas Run and Mama Urchin and her little urchin joined us, as well. We spent a good chunk of the time streamside, and rest of the time standing around the kitchen table munching on bagels and egg salad (what else would you expect from me?).

Saturday evening, Erin, Emily and I spent some time together wandering around the cute parts of Baltimore and stopping for Mexican, the regular routine for me and Emily.

I was sad to see the weekend end. But still hold on to all that was so, so good.

Saturday evening, Erin, Emily and I spent some time together wandering around the cute parts of Baltimore and stopping for Mexican, the regular routine for me and Emily.

I was sad to see the weekend end. But still hold on to all that was so, so good.

13 Comments