Toddler Food

First off - two posts in one day! I feel super accomplished. :)

I came up with a list of food items, {kind of} sorted by food group and typed it up in an easy printable for the fridge. I don't know about you  - but I end up feeding my toddler the same snacks and foods simply because a) I know he'll eat them and b) I don't have the time or energy to come up with something fun, new and creative on the spot. {Thanks, Pinterest for making us NORMAL moms feel inadequate...}

So while this is by no means an all-inclusive list, I think it'll help start {hopefully} a trend at our house where little Mister will eat more than just yogurt {his fave} and grains {any cracker! another fave} for snack time {ok...and honestly, sometimes meal times too}.

Just so y'all don't think I'm an awful food-mom, I DID get him to eat organic brown rice {cooked in organic chicken stock!}, quinoa, and chicken last night. Major win for us! Every once in a while he surprises us...and then again, other days he just wants pizza. :)

XO

Peeves...Part Two

OK, I normally don't go on rants online regarding various things. Especially not twice in one week. Chalk it up to being pregnant, or just very, very tired of our culture/society jumping down people's throats for absolutely the dumbest things.

Yesterday I pinned {this pin} on Pinterest. Granted, it originally got pinned to my "Good Food" board instead of the "I can't wait for a PINK makeover" board.....but rest assured, I fixed that mistake. I don't eat Barbie dolls.

Personally, I think this is a great idea! When I was little my mom always made sure my dolls had "undergarments" on. I never fully understood until I understood the whole "modesty" thing, but I knew at a young age that dolls {and people} shouldn't be un clothed in front of other people - that it was inappropriate. There are parts of our bodies that are special, and need to be covered up because its the right thing to do.
{I could go on and on about this part but I won't}

The pins' title was "Good way to avoid nakedness".

Last night I got an email notification that someone had commented on my pin.

I didn't check the comment until this morning.

Here's what a complete stranger felt the need to write on my pin/board:

"Because being naked is wrong." {actually, there were typos}

UM....?! Really?!

Why yes, mystery person, in case you haven't noticed it is NOT ACCEPTABLE to be naked in public. At least not in the corner of the world I live in!

I'm not sure why this bothered me so much. Maybe it's because I don't know them and they don't know me. Maybe it's because as a people we feel the "freedom of speech" right means we deserve to offer our opinion to anyone, anywhere, for any reason, whether asked for or not. If you ask me {we'll just pretend you did}, I think that REEKS of entitlement and a very snobbish attitude.

My response {which I may or may not delete off my board} was, granted, not the most eloquent or graceful. But here it is, in it's finest; please don't judge me:

"I don't know you - but no, being naked isn't "wrong" but inappropriate at certain times/places and I'd want to teach my daughters to cover up for modesty sake. That stripping off ones clothes at random times in front of whomever is around in order to change is not ok...among other reasons. Why must people always take offense to the dumbest little things? If you don't think it's wrong then don't color in your kids' barbies. Simple!"


I know - perhaps not the best way to handle the situation. But the last sentence I meant with all my heart.

Our response to trivial things that don't really matter should be simple - if you don't think there's anything wrong with your daughter's Barbies being naked, then don't worry about coloring their private parts in! If you don't think there's anything wrong with your son whistling at "hot chicks" as he walks past, then don't smack his mouth and explain why that's inappropriate. If you don't think that it's a big deal if your hubby watches porn on the internet, then don't set up security measures/blocks/etc to avoid that temptation. But for those of us who would like to protect our daughters from immodesty, our sons from ignorant macho-ness and our husbands from sin - leave us be. Please and thank you.

XO

Pregnancy Peeves

Well, if you haven't noticed already, I'm pregnant. (Why else would I be planning a nursery for a random kid named Daniel?! See previous post if you're lost)

And, you know what? There are A LOT of misconceptions, opinions, theories, and assumptions when it comes to pregnancy. I have "liked" various mommy/kid/family pages on Facebook and saw a post on one of them yesterday that asked the question "Should pregnant women receive special treatment?". You guys - I was ASTONISHED at the answers I was reading! I'll answer personally at the end of this post to {hopefully} keep you reading ;)

Basically, women (and even a few men had the guts to speak up) who have been pregnant, and even women who hadn't, were chiming in on both sides of this topic. And frankly - both "sides" were being extremely rude about it. What happened to the day and age where logical conversation and good discussion could carry on without demeaning insults, dropping the F bomb (and company) every other word, and calling people names?!

On one side, there were the "I-could-do-everything-I-did-before-I-was-pregnant-and-so-should-you-quit-being-a-pansy" individuals. On the other, there were the "I-had-the-worst-pregnancy-ever-and-needed-help-with-everything-every-day-or-else-I-would-loose-the-baby" folks. Then there were the "I've-obviously-never-been-pregnant-but-ya'll-need-to-suck-it-up" guys...and a few girls.

Here's where I stand: no one should judge a pregnant woman because you have NO IDEA how she feels. Even if you're pregnant. Even if you've been pregnant. Even if you've been pregnant ten times. But especially if you haven't been. This being my second pregnancy I can say that this one is TOTALLY different than the last one.

With #1 I was sick the 1st trimester, but only for a day or so at a time. Starting in approx. week 8, I'd be nauseous, throw up, and then feel great. I threw up a total of 5 times, never twice on the same day. I couldn't eat a whole lot because nothing sounded appetizing, and lost 15 lbs. Once I got over that hurdle (exactly at week 12), I was GREAT! Weeks 13-38 were awesome. I had some round ligament pain every once in a while, and got tired a little quicker; but all in all I was feeling perfectly fine. {The last two to four weeks I had a lot of indigestion and was just feeling HUGE but again, nothing major}

This time around, I got sick starting at week 4 or 5. Nauseous ALL FLIPPING DAY LONG. I threw up ONCE {I think it was week 7 or 8}. There was absolutely NO relief except for sleeping. Which, with a toddler running around, wasn't exactly easy. Thank goodness for awesome in-laws and an amazing husband. I don't know how I got through the first trimester (plus a few weeks, because the sickness didn't end as abruptly and "promptly" at the end of the first trimester like last time). I'm always tired and can fall asleep anytime, anywhere. I feel HUGE already and feel now like I did 9 months pregnant last time. I have indigestion SO BAD I hate eating {but let's be real - I love eating so no, I'm not starving myself}.

I'm not complaining. I am so excited to be pregnant with our second child and I cannot wait to hold him {for many reasons} but I'm painting these two drastically different pictures to prove a point. During my first pregnancy it would have been super easy to "judge" the tired, cranky, not-put-together, sloppy pregnant lady because that wasn't me {now it is - ha!!}...but who am I to judge? As the saying goes, don't judge someone 'til you've walked a mile in their shoes.

Now, some of the "special treatments" that repeatedly came up in the above mentioned Facebook debate were closer parking, holding doors, giving up seats, cutting in line, and "freebies". Here's my personal opinion on these in particular:

Closer Parking - Heck yes. It should be an option. If you feel it's healthier to walk, then don't park there when you're pregnant. But this is a no-brainer to me for multiple reasons: 3rd trimester (speaks for itself), 1st trimester (so you can get to the trashcan quicker), pregnant with toddlers or just other children in general, and/or just for the sake of being courteous.
{Many of the arguments against it were its "unhealthy" not to walk and people abuse it....welcome to the real world, folks. Any privilege is abused by SOMEONE. That's no reason not to present it to others who might genuinely need/want/respect it.}

Holding doors/Giving up seats - Um, hello?! Isn't that called common courtesy?! This should be done for the elderly, pregnant, moms with babies/young children (or dads), etc....why would anyone be against this??

Cutting in line - Now...here's where I kinda ride the middle of the fence. I mean...if it's a bathroom issue and you see an obviously pregnant woman in line - just ask. She can always say "no thanks". I know I've been waiting for a stall before, though, and about to pee my pants, and this courtesy would've been great. :) I don't necessarily think just because I'm pregnant I should be allowed to cut in line at the grocery store, or at the bank...maybe at an outside event (to get inside quicker if it's very hot or very cold?) or something. I guess there just needs to be discretion in any case and both parties (pregnant and non) should be respectful and polite. {As anyone should be, at any time...which our society has seemed to forgotten which is why it needs to be said?! Ugh}

Freebies - Again, an "it depends" scenario. Free smoothie on a hot day? Yes please! Free HD TV just because? I wouldn't expect that one...haha

I think it all boils down to these things - respect, courtesy, manners, and entitlement. The first three are seriously lacking today; the last is utterly TOO common. And not just for pregnant mamas! This world we live in; this crazy "I'm entitled to _____; but how dare anyone else think they can get it for free" mentality just drives me up the wall.

I just felt compelled to bring some of this up and see where y'all stand. What do you think? If you've been pregnant did you get special treatment or not? Did you like it or not so much? I'd love to see your opinions. Keep 'em polite, respectful and clean please and thank you :)

XO

Baby #2 - Daniel Anthony

As many know, we are expecting baby boy #2 in July. Yay! I am now even MORE outnumbered in my household by boys, and even MORE determined to infuse this house with some PINK at *some point* {No, I'm not planning on getting preggo again right away; we're adopting #3 if all goes well}

Anyway, I've always been a crafty kinda girl and LOVE to make my own stuff {duh; see my canvases ;)} So I *THOUGHT* I'd try a hand at the bedding this time around....hahaha I crack myself up. Luckily, hubby's grandma is a PHENOMENAL seamstress and volunteered to save my child's room from inevitable disaster.
{She made our first bedspread/set when we were first married as well as all of the curtains in my house. Love her!}

Here's the color scheme I'm really into:

I was trying to decide between the aqua and the navy....hubby likes the navy best, and I did a poll on instagram and facebook (seriously) where navy won. I just can't seem to let go of that aqua chevron print! So I'm thinking of doing BOTH. I mean, blue and blue doesn't clash, right?? Here's a screen shot of what it *might* look like (substitute the gray elephants for the gray chevron on the bumper):

There's a quilt I'm designing that will be a patchwork of these colors (minus the orange; the orange is on the bumper/skirt only and in accent pieces like a pillow for my glider, and a rug) in a variety of striped, polka dot, and chevron patterns. I cannot WAIT to get all of the fabric ordered and this project underway! I MAY even attempt a simple sheet or blanket ;) For the curtains I'm thinking either yellow or aqua - not sure if solid or patterned. 

The fabrics I'm using I found on babybedding.com and nurseryfabrics.com and the lovely nursery bedding design helper (where I made the above picture) was on babybedding.com (the elephant fabric was on nursery fabrics which is why I couldn't get it in the picture. Boo!) This cool design program let you pick flooring/color, wall color and even crib color! Loved it. Their fabric prices are decent, but the prices to have the bedding made are a little steep, IMO.

I'm getting so excited! :) Now, if only July could get here quicker!!

XO