Picky Toddler Problems

When I was little I was SO picky.  I was once quoted for saying "I don't like apples in my applesauce!"  (Does anyone really like chunky applesauce?!)  Anyway, you know what they say....what goes around comes around!  These days I have the pleasure of trying to plan meals for my little picky toddler!  He used to be a great eater and seemed to like everything (except meat).  Then one day he decided he hated pretty much all vegetables.  I'm lucky because he still likes all of the delicious foods like fruits and dairy.  I'm not quite sure how he's my son though because he's very picky about his carbs!

I try to include a variety of food groups into each one of Carson's dinners: protein, grain, fruit/veggie, dairy.  Check out these suggested servings:

{via}

We usually let Carson try what I've made for us, but a lot of times he doesn't like it and it's easier to just make a toddler meal for him.  When he's bigger I'll work on expanding his taste buds to include "big kid" food! :)

Here are some of my quick go-to foods that I like to keep on hand when I need to throw together a fast toddler dinner:

Protein
As you can see, the only real "meat" is fish.  Funny because I personally hate fish!  I've tried all kinds of real meat with Carson and he will NOT eat it.  I even tried mixing real meat with fake meat and he picked out the real meat and threw it on the ground!  Self proclaimed vegetarian at 15 months, I suppose.  Anyway, the vegetarian section at our grocery is where you can find us most weeks.  I like that I can get Carson's veggies and protein in by serving veggie burgers or veggie "chicken".  He loves the Morningstar Chik'n nuggets (and chik'n patties - grilled or breaded) as well as just about any brand of veggie burger.  I did find he prefers the "grillers" variety over the more gourmet like black bean burgers, haha!  Like I said, SO picky!  Another way I get protein in is peanut butter.  He LOVES the stuff.  I usually serve it for lunch but sometimes he gets it for dinner.

Fruits/Veggies
We always have fresh fruit and he eats it with lunch and dinner daily.  He isn't a big fan of any melon, but likes just about everything else.  Some of his favorites lately include bananas, strawberries, and nectarines.
As far as veggies, I get those in with the veggie burgers/chik'n a lot of the time.  If not, I always have some food pouches in the cabinet.  Carson still gobbles these up most of the time and it makes me feel less guilty about the veggies I serve him that are often left untouched [or thrown on the floor for the dogs].

Dairy
Carson drinks organic whole milk with his dinners but sometimes I add a little extra dairy to his day.  I have to be careful not to over-do the dairy because it definitely upsets his tummy.  For extra dairy Carson loves the Stonyfield Organic yogurts.  Some of them even have veggies in them - bonus!  He also loves cheese sticks which are great for on-the-go meals!

Grains
 One of Carson's favorite carbs is definitely Annie's mac'n'cheese!  The funny thing is that he will ONLY eat the bunny pasta.  I've tried the shells and even the traditional elbow noodles and he won't eat them!  Such a goof.  I have to agree though, shapes pasta just tastes better! :)
I also make sandwiches for Carson using Brownberry whole wheat bread.  This is what our whole family eats so it's easy to keep it fresh in our kitchen.  I've tried using tortillas to make little quesadillas and fun roll-ups but Carson would rather just eat the tortilla plain.

Any tips on expanding your toddler's palette?  

Anyone else have a vegetarian toddler?! 

I'm linking up today:

Sunday Funday!

It's been a while since I've participated in Sunday Social and even though summer is my favorite holiday, I'm linking up for some fun fall questions!


1. What is your favorite fall activity? Going for walks in the cool, crisp air.  Visiting the pumpkin patch.  Decorating for fall.

2. Do you follow a football team? If so, which one and why? THE Ohio State Buckeyes!  O-H!  I follow the Bucks because they're the best!  Plus I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio.  :)

3. What is something fun about fall in your area? About 30 minutes away there's a small town that hosts an annual pumpkin show/festival.  It's pretty crazy and lots of fun!

4. What are your favorite fall staple outfits? I LOVE skinny jeans + boots + a comfy sweater.  I also live in cardigans all year in the fall.  :)

5. What things are his looking forward to most about this coming fall season? I can't wait to take Carson back to the pumpkin patch!  He was so little last year and I just know he's going to love it this year!  I'm also super excited to get a caramel apple from the farm where we get our pumpkins!

6. What is your favorite fall holiday? Tradition? I do like Halloween, especially now that I have a little cutie to get all dressed up in a costume BUT I think Thanksgiving is my favorite.  I love getting together with family and eating delicious food!  Even though Thanksgiving is my fav, I'm still super pumped to find an adorable costume for Carson for Halloween this year!  Here are some pics from last fall:

Mess-Free Finger Painting

I love doing art projects with Carson.  He loves the process and I end up with a cute little keepsake (and usually a big mess).  Because painting projects can get super messy, we don't do them very often.  This "mess-free" technique was inspired by a Pin I saw on Pinterest.

What You Need
Gallon-Sized Ziploc Baggie
Piece of Paper (I just used regular computer paper for this project)
2-3 colors of paint (I used acrylics I had in my craft stash)

 

How to Make It

1. Place your paper in the ziploc baggie.  Make sure you do this BEFORE putting paint on the paper!
2. Reaching inside the baggie, squirt some dots of paint onto the paper.  You can use as many or as little colors as you'd like but make sure your paint dots are spread out!
3. Zip your baggie closed.
4. Double check that your baggie is zipped so you can make sure this IS a mess-free craft!
5. Let your child paint away without making a mess!

Here's Carson's final product.  He had fun and I had very little clean-up!

*Note: As you can see in the final product image, our paper tore a bit.  I think this is because I let it dry too long INSIDE the baggie.  I would suggest carefully removing the painting as soon as your artist finishes so that the paint won't dry to the bag like ours did!

I'm linking up today:

August/September Goals

Here's a look at how I did with my August goals:

1. Read 1 book.  SUCCESS!  It took the entire month, but I finished a book.  I really wish I had more time to set aside for reading but once I put Carson to bed I usually like to use that time as husband/wife time.  Don't get any ideas...we normally just play a game or watch some Netflix!  :)  Here's the book I read in August, still deciding what my September book will be.

2. De-clutter the basement.  FAIL!  I was able to sell about 5-10 things from the basement that I didn't need anymore, but I definitely didn't de-clutter.  I did, however, de-clutter the rest of our house!  It's getting super close to being ready to put on the market!  

3. Find a way to get Carson to eat more veggies!  Semi-Success.  We tried a few new veggies this month including soy beans and Carson was not impressed.  One thing that worked for me was pureeing the veggies and adding them to things.  That's not super convenient so I'm still looking for other ideas.  I also tried to mix some veggies in with his beloved Annie's mac'n'cheese and he picked the green beans out and tried to feed them to me!  What a stinker!  He'll still eat the food pouches so right now, that's how he's getting most of his veggies.

Notice he left all the beans.... :/

4. Go on a date with the hubster.  Success!  Not only did we spend an entire weekend together in NYC, but we also went to a wedding!  

5. Travel to another state!  Success!  I flew alone (for the first time!) to meet Nick in NYC.  He was there for 2 weeks on business so I joined him for a weekend and we packed in tons of sight seeing and yummy food!  It was my first time being away from Carson overnight and while it was super hard to leave, coming back to him was pretty amazing!  :)

Now onto new goals!

September Goals

1. Read 1 book.  It seems like this is a nice attainable goal for me so I'm going to keep it for September!  Now I need to hurry up and choose a book!  I've read 10/25 for my 2013 goal so I'm not completely behind...right?  :)

2. Get our house on the market!  We've been working toward this for a few weeks now and we're just about ready to officially put our house on the market.  It's very bittersweet since we've been here 8.5 years (time flies!) but I know Nick is excited to be closer to his work. 

3. Visit somewhere new with Carson.  I want to try out some new places with Carson both indoor and outdoor.  Hopefully the weather will be nice for the majority of the month, but I need to find some indoor activities for when the weather starts to get cold.  Once September is over the countdown to spring begins! :)

4. Go on a date with the hubster.  I'm keeping this goal for another month!  Last month we did amazing with a weekend getaway AND a wedding!  This month I'm going to shoot for something a little more low key like going to see a movie or something.  :)

5. Get some "me" time during one nap a week.  Lately I've been so tired at the end of each day.  Nick leaves before Carson gets up and usually doesn't get home until 7 or later.  I LOVE spending my time with Carson but it's not like we're just hanging out eating bon bons and watching TV!  I've never been good at giving myself relaxation time.  Even when I worked, I would spend my entire lunch break working; sending emails, prepping for the afternoon, making copies, etc.  I have decided that once a week during nap time, instead of cleaning or doing other things from my never-ending to-do list, I'm going to take some time for myself.  Maybe I'll read a book, maybe I'll watch trashy reality TV, maybe I'll paint my nails!  The possibilities are endless! ;)

Toddler Style on a Budget!

I would love to spend tons of money on little brand name baby clothes but I just can't justify it.  Carson grows out of his clothes so fast and without knowing if we'll have another boy, I had to see expensive pieces only be worn a few times!  I've never spent a lot on my own clothes so I guess I'm carrying that over to Carson's wardrobe as well.  I'm just kind of frugal and I'm okay with that.  (That's not to say I'm not jealous of those of you who can afford to go out and pick up the latest Mini Boden pieces....so cute!)

When shopping for Carson I almost always use a coupon or buy during a sale.  Sometimes I do splurge a bit (like when I bought Carson's Toms from Zulily.com)!  If you're looking to find some good deals, check out the stores I've listed below.  

Head to Carter's if you're looking for adorable animals, silly sayings, or matching sibling outfits.  Kohl's also has a great selection of Carter's as well as other brands.  Old Navy is my fav for cheap separates.  I just picked up a pair of jeans for Carson over the weekend for under $7 during their 30% off sale!  Macy's also carries Carter's as well as First Impressions which is very similar to the more expensive Mini Boden line!  You can find brand names like Nautica at TJ Maxx and Marshalls, but it can be very hit or miss.  The Children's Place is my favorite for adorable jammies!  They also have a great selection of preppy clothes like polos and sweaters.  Go visit H&M if you're looking for a cute newboy cap or a cardigan for your stylish tot.  Target is a great place to go ANYTIME (haha) and they have a good selection including a special line of Carter's clothing called "Just One You".  Baby Gap may not be considered budget friendly for everyone, but you can get some really good deals there if you try!  Using coupons during sales can get you a lot of cute clothes and they're really good quality, too!  These little toddlers are rough on their outfits!

Here are some of the outfits I've chosen for C's professional photos (6 months and 12 months).  I miss that little chunky 6 month old, oh my goodness!

6 Months: blue button up from Old Navy, argyle vest from Carter's, dark wash jeans from The Children's Place.  Total Cost: $18.

12 Months: Plaid button-up from Target, jeans from Carter's, orange soled shoes from The Children's Place.  Total cost: $28.

I'm linking up with a few lovely ladies today:

What a Mom Looks Like

Be honest.  What image do you get in your head when you hear "Mom"?  I'm not talking about your mom, I'm talking about moms in general.

Here's the image that comes to my head.  Yes, it's very stereotypical.  No, it's not meant to be offensive.

Minimal or no make-up. 

Yoga pants.  

Hair in a pony tail (or top knot/sock bun if you're a blogger mom).  

Some sort of spill on your outfit - food, breast milk, bodily fluids, snacks, etc.  

Screaming kids attached to your legs.   

Some sort of caffeine in the cup holder of your stroller - Starbucks or soda perhaps.

Sounds attractive and desirable, right?  ;)  Sometimes it's just real life, though!  In reality, most of us want to be Super Mom, right?  We want to do it all and look great while doing it!

I think it's possible (and not that hard) to find a happy medium between super mom and stereotypical-exhausted-rundown mom.  Although it is okay to be the stereotypical tired mom, we all deserve days where we aren't using our super powers!

Here are some of my tips to FEEL like Super Mom without actually having to BE Super Mom:

1. Get dressed every day (or as often as you can).  By getting dressed, I mean put something on besides your pajamas.  Some days getting dressed may mean workout/comfy clothes.  That's ok!

2. Spend a few minutes on yourself in the morning (or as soon as you have a minute).  Every day I take a few minutes to run the flat iron through my hair and throw on some mascara and lip gloss.  I cannot tell you how much it effects my mood.  That might sound shallow to some of you, but if I look good (or decent), I feel good!

3. Plan some sort of activity for your child(ren) every day.  I'm not saying you need to go spend a ton of money every day.  You don't even need to leave the house every day (although I enjoy getting out at least once a day, especially in these warmer months)!  I'm talking about anything planned.  It could be a trip to the library, a park outing, finger painting, chalk in the driveway, etc.  When you PLAN ahead and carry out your plans, you will feel successful!

4. Clean something every day.  When I first started staying at home, I would feel SO lazy on days that I didn't clean at all.  Even if we were out to 4 play dates, grocery shopping, getting the oil changed, etc.  I still felt lazy.  I'm not sure why, but cleaning makes me feel accomplished!  I created a chore chart for myself so that I have 1-2 small things a day that I can easily get done before Carson wakes up in the morning or during nap time.  Having the chore chart may sound juvenile, but I'm a list maker and like crossing things off a list so it works for me!

5. Meal plan!  I can't believe I didn't start doing this sooner.  Every Sunday evening I sit down at my computer and recipe book (aka Pinterest) and plan our meals for the week.  I usually try to stick in a new recipe every week or so which keeps it exciting.  After picking out what I'm going to serve for the week, I make out my grocery list.  (My meal planning often goes along with my couponing and weekly deals at my grocery.)  Planning our meals saves me so much time during the week and helps me to make sure that we will have a home cooked meal every night.  I've found that we try so many new things this way and I know we're getting a good variety!

6. Take some time for yourself!  I totally wish I was one of those moms that went and got weekly mani-pedis or shopping adventures.  Unfortunately that's just not what happens 'round here.  (Although I won't complain if someone wants to push me out the door....)  When I say "you time" I mean any time you can get to yourself that is relaxing.  Maybe you need to have a glass of wine after bedtime, maybe you want to lay in bed and read your book, maybe you want to have some time to write your blog posts.  Whatever it is, make sure you get your you time!  Since my husband works fairly late, my "me time" is usually during Carson's nap or after he goes to bed.  For example, it's currently 12:20am and I'm blogging while everyone else is in bed so I can have "me time".  It's that important to me.  :)



**Please note: these are tips geared toward SAHMs but can also apply to working moms.  Working moms are even more super in my eyes because they have mastered the juggling act!

I found this lovely gem on Google Images.  Let's all aspire to be this Super Mom!

I'm linking up with Becky today:

NYC Trip Recap [Picture Overload!]

I know I was an awful blogger last week, but we've been BUSY trying to get our house ready to put on the market.  Nick didn't get home from NYC until Thursday night so I was single mommin' it most of the week.

A couple weeks ago I shared my NYC must see list.  In case you forgot, here's my list:

 After visiting NYC for 2 days and 3 nights, I was able to cross about 7.5 things off my list!  7.5/9 isn't bad for such a short trip!

Here's a recap of our trip in photos...

I arrived Friday night during sun down.  Talk about a beautiful landing!

First we went to Rockefeller (#5!) which was RIGHT by our hotel.  It looked so pretty and I can only imagine how neat it is in the winter with the big Christmas tree!

I also wanted to see Times Square (#1!) right away.  It was just as crazy and hectic as I expected!  I loved it though.  There was so much going on, stores open late into the night, people everywhere....so much fun!  Obviously I wouldn't want to spend an extended amount of time there, but it's a cool experience!

I also rode the Subway for the first time.  Nick was making fun of me for being a total tourist and taking pictures down there.  I don't care. :)

The photos above are from the Subway near our hotel.  It was pretty nice.  The subway in other areas of town are much more run down and a bit sketchy!  Super cool architecture and design, though!

On our first night we had Italian for dinner (would you expect anything else?!) at Pasta Lovers Trattoria.  It was a cute restaurant that was much bigger than we expected!  Also super affordable and great food.  We had to get dessert so we went to Serendipity 3 which has been on my "to try" list ever since seeing it on Food Network!  The frozen hot chocolate definitely lived up to my expectations and the restaurant was super cute with tons of character!

Saturday we started out our day by checking out Grand Central Station.  I've seen so many movie scenes take place there that I pretty much consider myself a famous actress now.  Cool, right?!  I also made Nick take a couples selfie to start out the day.  He LOVES slefies.  {sarcasm}

We ate our lunch (street food from a festival) in Bryant Park!  I looked around for Tim Gunn even though it wans't fashion week but I couldn't find him.

After lunch we walked around and did some exploring.  We found the super unique Flatiron apartment building where Luis from Million Dollar Listing lives!  We also saw the Empire State building this day but I couldn't get a good picture since we were literally at the base of the building!

Next on our agenda was checking out the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (#2!).  On our way, we walked along the Hudson River in a beautiful area full of people riding bikes, roller blading, and walking their dogs.  If I had to live in the city, I would have to be close to the river walk!

We had both agreed that we preferred to go to Ellis Island and seeing the Statue of Liberty from far away was good enough for us.  Unfortunately tours to Ellis Island were closed for some reason so we weren't able to go to the island!  We did see it from a distance, though.

Next we headed to see the 9/11 Memorial (#7!) and the new Freedom Tower.

Saturday night we got a little fancy...watch out!

We had dinner at Marcony Ristorante and it was pretty good.  Definitely not my favorite Italian meal, but the service was great!  We sat on the patio which was really nice!

After dinner we went to a rooftop bar in Hell's Kitchen called The Press Lounge.  Not just any rooftop bar, though.  This bar is on the intro to the Letterman Show and Drew Barrymore had her engagement party here.  Big time, people.  Big time!  The lounge has an awesome view of the skyline, expensive drinks, and comfy lounge furniture.  What else can you ask for?

Saturday night we went and got a midnight snack at Magnolia Bakery.  We walked by the bakery several times since it was super close to our hotel and I was going to be mad if I left NYC without trying one of their cupcakes.  We ended up trying Red Velvet and S'mores and they were both delicious.  Their frosting is definitely my favorite part of their cupcakes!

Sunday we started off our day by doing some window shopping.  We started out at FAO Schwartz to pick out a little souvenir for Carson.  We spent SO much time in there, it's HUGE and super fun to look at everything!

Next we headed over to Central Park (#6!).  It was everything I expected and more.  I had NO idea it was seriously so HUGE.  It's gorgeous and an amazing retreat from the craziness of the city.  When we first got in there were tour groups everywhere but we got by them quickly and it was easy to find a nice serene area.  If I lived in NYC I'd be frequenting the park for sure!

We walked through Central Park to the Met (#3!) and spent a while in there.  It's also HUGE and easy to get lost in there.  We had a map and still couldn't figure out where we were at times!  They had a lot of neat displays and also a LOT of tour groups (so annoying).  Funny enough, I think I was most enamored with the architecture of the building!

After the museum we headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner.  I think coral was my theme of the trip...

 We walked all around enjoying the scenery and trying to decide where to eat.  We wanted to eat somewhere casual and we ended up at BareBurger which was awesome!  They serve organic, all-natural, grass-fed, free range, humanely raised, sustainable, pesticide free meats.  (Talk about a mouthful.)  They offer different types of burgers including vegetarian options!  I loved this because I don't eat beef so it was nice to be able to get a specialty burger!  I'm so glad we tried it because even though their locations are all currently in NY, they are bringing one to Columbus, OH soon!

We went back to Times Square one more time.  Their Toys-R-Us has a ferris wheel inside!

Inside the Rock...we almost did the "Top of the Rock" tour but decided against it since we already got such a great view at the Press Lounge!

Once again, we had to get a midnight snack!  This time I tried Crumbs after getting a referral from a friend who lives in the city.  Crumbs was AMAZING!  The cupcakes are ginormous and so flavorful!  This time we got S'mores, Red Velvet, and Cookies'n'Cream!

So the only items I wasn't able to check off my "must see" list were the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island (which I half checked off since we did see them, just didn't tour them) and a Broadway show.  I knew we wouldn't be seeing a show since we waited too long to buy tickets and I'm totally okay with that!

What's your favorite thing in NYC?  I can't wait to go back!