halloweeny crafts with a feisty toddler

I've found so far, when it comes to creating and crafting with L, that wrapped canvas on a wood frame makes for a sturdy surface for us to work with. We paint with nontoxic  tempera. 

The painting on the left entailed me letting him play with yellow, orange and red paint for a bit, then I converted his creation into an autumn tree with black paint. 

The second painting was created by stamping L's feet in orange paint, then quickly stamping his gooey orange foot on the canvas, repeat on the otherside, voila! I painted the words and jack 'o lantern a bit later. 

I like to finish these precious canvas projects with an imperfect painted border to kind of frame them. I found cool halloweeny plaid ribbon to create hangers on each. The german staple gunned the ribbon to the back of each canvas. 

I jokingly asked if Liam might want to hang them in his college dorm someday... A girl can dream. Ha!

Happy Halloweeny Crafting!

I. AM. EXHAUSTED. (Liam is Happy.)

I. AM. EXHAUSTED. And it's fair to say, getting over the worst cough/cold I ever had. I am often sad, because life is not easy and I miss my mom terribly. I continue to struggle with getting L to nap. I also feel like I can't win when it comes to finding foods he'll eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner that will give him a truly balanced and healthy diet (= no end in sight for breastfeeding). 

All this said, the below photos reflect how life looks through Liam's beautiful blue eyes and that is absolutely all that matters. Providing, a happy, safe and nurturing life for him.  Liam is a happy child. He gets everything he needs. He knows not of my struggles and he needn't. 

I am his mommy and my job is to create for him the very best life that I can. 

I feel like we all need to remember this from time to time, try not to be too hard on ourselves and not let ANYone undermine how hard we work to create this fulfilling life for our children.

After all, do you recall your parents' hardships? Most likely no. You probably look back upon your childhood with a warm, nostalgic "life was so simple then" smile. 

Remind yourself of this whenever you feel the slightest bit like you suck. 

Hope this finds you well...

Stay strong, mommies.

Your babies love you!

That little blip on the slide with arms spread is L.

We played in a pumpkin patch.

We color together.

We met pooh and tigger

We sang Wheels on the Bus & played it too!

Sharing his shaker eggs with me at the library.

It's Halloweeny Around Here & L Digs It.

As we approach Liam's second Halloween, it's a lot more fun. He's engaged. We read Halloween books, watch his Halloween Yo Gabba Gabba DVD, draw Halloweeny pictures and go gaga over spooky decorations popping up everywhere, including our home. As the month goes on we'll attend a haunted pirate festival and many costume events. Yep, L's going to be Brobee. 

Happy October!

the kid's gotta eat

being that the german and i are both pretty much food obsessed, it's been strange begging L to eat something other than cheerios. i can insert my foot in mouth once more for judging others that fed their kids chicken nuggets every single d@mn day of their toddlerhood. i get it now. i'm sorry.

L has caused ME to throw tantrums when he refused to eat simple, yummy foods i made for him. WHY do you spit out black beans, child?! They're a perfect food. What do you think you're doing tossing fresh avocado on the floor?! You don't like chunks of cheese!? Who's kid are you??! 

slowly but surely, i'm figuring this boy's taste buds out. and perhaps they're evolving, which would be bad to the bone. just thought i'd share a couple things he'll swallow at the moment. 

mac & cheese with peas (+ tomato)
simply toss frozen peas in your boiling water with the pasta, dice a tomato while peas and pasta cook, toss tomato in just after you drain pasta and peas, then add your cheese. macs & cheese made healthier with a serving of fruit and a serving of veggies! num num num. 

whole wheat pb&j squares
i like using multi-grain flatbread type bread for these. make with your favorite peanut/almond butter and preserves, then cut into tiny toddler bite sized squares with a pizza cutter. a tasty little classic made just the way L digs. 

i'm also getting good at adding chopped veggies to all-natural frozen cheese pizzas, and making L whole wheat cheese and organic salsa quesadillas.  

i'm not trying to be a baby gourmand here. i'm shooting for quick, edible and nutritious-ish. what vegetarian fare will your new toddler devour? please do share!