6 Paleo recipes (and snacks) even my kids will eat

About two weeks ago my husband and I started doing the Paleo Diet.  The "caveman diet" as it's often referred, cuts out grains, legumes, dairy products, refined salt, refined sugar, and processed oils and focuses on veggies, fruits, fish, proteins, seeds and nuts.

I'm not a big dieter, but my husband has tried various things before - including being a vegetarian.  If there's one thing I've learned from his diet fads, it's that it's a major PIA to cook for a family when one person is on a diet.  When the Mr. was doing no meat I felt like I was cooking 4 different meals....something for him, a version for me and something that would look and taste yummy enough for a picky 2 and 4 year old to eat.

That's part of the reason why this time I'm also doing the same diet.  Obviously, my kids are not on a diet (so don't even go there) - they're eating plenty of bread and dairy (and fruit snacks) - but I don't consider it a bad thing for me to limit their carbs and processed foods during the one meal where we all sit down to eat - dinner. 

I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with all of us that we've actually managed to eat the same thing for more than one night...gasp it's been like three!  Even before the diet, it was a rarity that we'd all eat the same thing - usually there was a hotdog, a chicken nugget or a grilled cheese somewhere on the menu.  To my pleasant surprise, it didn't take too much any convincing to get my kids to eat coconut chicken and sweet potatoes.  They also enjoyed the spiced chicken with pineapple and peach puree, and couldn't get enough chicken with rosemary and shallots.   BFD (Breakfast for Dinner) is big in my house so there's an easy one because my whole gang is big fans of eggs and bacon and a side of fruit or sweet potato hash browns.  The kids even ate the paleo banana pancakes with agave nectar (we subbed that out for syrup more than a year ago).   Salsa chicken  and/or tacos (jar of salsa + taco seasoning + chicken breasts or ground meat + 8 hours in the crockpot) are another big one...we just eat the filling or put it on a lettuce wrap or over a salad instead of putting it on a taco shell or tortilla. 

One of the best tricks I've found is getting the kids involved in the cooking process.  I have found that they get way more excited to eat something when they've actually had their hands in there cracking the eggs or mixing something.

And I've also found my little guys sneaking my paleo snacks....apple slices with almond butter, grapes, paleo crunch (they really like the apple pie flavor), dried apricots, dates, lara bars, and raisins seem to be popular.  Of course, the most popular with the kiddos was the paleo brownies.

If you plan to do Paleo, you will need to sub out some of your staple pantry items including flour and oil.  Almond and coconut flour are pretty big, as is unsweetened coconut.  If you have a sweet tooth like me, be sure to pick up some cocoa powder, too. 

I've put together a Paleo staples shopping list on Amazon to make it easy for you to get started if you're interested in trying out the diet or at least limiting carbs and processed sugars.

Happy Birthday to my little buddy!

Two years ago today our family welcomed what we can only describe as the most talkative, energetic, loving, compassionate, and destructive little guy in the world. 

Our world was flipped upside down with the birth of Blake, but we've made it to 2 and I feel like we're finally getting to where things are getting a little -- let me stress a little -- easier. 

He hasn't given me any gray hairs yet, but he's pulled more a few from his sister's head.  Still we love him more than words can say for the all the crazy stuff he does.

Here are a few okay, a ton my favorite moments from Blake's second year!

Happy Birthday, buddy, mommy loves you more than words can say! 

5 Punishment threats NO mom should EVER make (because they'll bite you in the A**)

My four year was seriously just having like a major 4 year old girl meltdown.  She was mad I wouldn't let her go down the basement to find some toy that she's never cared about until like two minutes ago. She said she wanted to sleep with it for nap -- pretty sure that's 4 year old code for "talk to it for an hour and a half instead of actually sleep".  But that's not why I said no... 

I said "no" for two reasons: nap time was coming and I knew if she went down my 2 year old would follow and I knew he had to poop and he always goes when he's in the basement. (It's like me and card shopping, I always get the feeling when I'm trying to pick out a card so I end up just buying some birthday card for a he when it's really a she's birthday....you get my point -- that's like his spot).  Anyway, I said no and that just set her off.  She kept asking. I kept saying no. She kept asking. I kept getting more annoyed. 

Finally, I put an end to it - or at least I thought I did - by herding them upstairs for nap.  My daughter asked again and when I said no again this time she stomped her foot. OH hell to the no...you.do.not stomp.your.foot.at.me.young.lady.  That's when I took the stuffed Minnie Mouse doll she had in her hand and told her she wasn't sleeping with that either. 

That really got her going.  Now she's balling...great.  My son's yelling "Fake crying." I'm pretty sure the tears, beet red face, and borderline hyperventilating isn't faking...but whatever.  Anyway, as I tried not to let them see me get a chuckle out of his remark, I told her if she didn't stop in .5 seconds she'd have no TV for two days.

WAIT what? Why would I say that? That's more of a punishment for me than it was for her.  I seriously hate when I make punishment threats like that.  Thankfully she stopped so I didn't have to endure the torture of actually following through out that horrendous punishment against myself. 

I'm actually known to do this.  Like when the kids are acting up because they're so flippin' excited that they're spending the night at MomMom and PopPop's house.  Then there's me like: "Clean up these toys, these shoes, these jackets, animals, dolls, barbies, drinks, dirty tissues, books....or else you WON'T have a sleepover." Meantime, my husband's across the room -- and behind their backs -- like making a hacking motion across this throat reminding me there's no flippin' way they're NOT going for a sleepover.  Right, right what am I thinking that's like the punishment of the year against a parent.

To help myself out (and now, you) I've created a list of five punishments I will NEVER threaten against my children.  I've also included an alternative that will likely strike such fear in them they will straighten up immediately...ready, here goes:

Don't threaten: No TV for a week  
Threaten: You will have to watch only the Golf Channel for a week

Don't threaten: You will not go for a sleep over at PopPop and MomMom's
Threaten:  You'll have to go to bed early at MomMom's.

Don't threaten: You are not leaving the house for the rest of the day  (You don't really want to stay in the house do you?)
Threaten: You will sit in timeout outside on the step while we all have fun and blow bubbles and pick daffadillers without you

Don't threaten:  No pizza for dinner tonight (You don't really want to cook do you?)
Threaten: Liverworst for dinner tonight!

Don't threaten:  No swimming lessons tonight (You do want to tire her out and get out of the house, don't you?)
Threaten:  You will have to leave before free swim at the end of your lesson

Okay so there you have it....use at your own risk.

On a serious note, what punishments have you have used that work best for you and your children? Please share as I know all moms are always looking for alternatives for the kid that just doesn't respond to time out.  

Potty trained toddler showing regression? Try these 5 tips to nip it in the butt

Potty training on the go

It's been almost two months since I successfully potty trained my then 21 month old son after enrolling him in 3 day potty training boot camp.  Even though he was potty trained in less than a week, there are days I am still on edge -- nervous he's totally forgotten all that we've worked on. 

Most days he stays completely dry and tells me when he has to go (it's usually more of a "ahhh ahh ahhh" with a little dance than a "potty mommy," but whatever, he's not even 2 yet).
But other days it seems like I'm changing his clothes so much I need to do laundry just so he's not wearing sissy's panties.  When he does slip into a minor bout of potty training regression, I use a couple of tricks to quickly get him back on track.

Easter party favors or cheep treats for classmates

I'm in the middle of planning an Easter egg hunt party and wanted to give the kids a little favor to take home with them. I came up with this idea of "cotton tails and bunny trails."

My kids love marshmallows and chocolate and anything 'potty' related always gets a giggle (Why is that...???) hence the "trails" aka chocolate chips. 

I put about half a cup of the mix in plastic treat bags (I cut the 9" bags down a little so  I didn''t have to fold over too much of the top of the bag) and stapled them closed with a festive printout I quickly made on the computer.

They could also be given out to classmates as an Easter or spring treat at a class party.

Easy and cheap cheep!

 

More Easter Ideas

• Easter Basket Ideas for Kids: 55 Non-Candy Easter Basket Stuffers

• Easter desserts: Two kid-friendly treats (to make and eat) from just one recipe

• Easter craft with peeps...my take on the popular peeps topiary

 

Beach Handprint Art ideas...these won't leave you crabby

About this time last year I started thinking about some unique Mother's Day gifts for my mom and my MIL.  We spend a lot of time at the beach and so I thought a nice gift might be some beach-themed artwork for my in law's beach house.

I always love handprint art because it seems to just capture the moment -- my kid's hand was just that size on this day! I was trying to incorporate my not-yet-1-year-old son into the beach themed hand print art, but...well, it didn't work out so well.  My three year old daughter was more than happy, however, to get her hands and feet all painted up. 

You know your little boy has a big sister if...

If there was ever a little boy who was "all boy" -- it's my son.  He runs...constantly.  He dumps...everything.  He talks...non stop.  He's loud, he's dirty, he's...well, as he put it, "a mess."   But he's also the little brother to a big sister.

From pretty early on I noticed that he'd gravitate toward the "boy" toys...you know, the trucks, balls, and tools.  Of course, we had many more girl toys because of my 4 year old daughter, but he'd also never give it a second thought to play with a baby (or should I say smack a ball at a baby's head) or brush a barbie's hair (ok...more like tug it) or put on a to to.   I always thought this was interesting and definitely way more "nature" than nurture since we didn't try to push him one way or the other.

One Thing Two Thing Birthday Party Ideas...perfect for a joint kids party

When my daughter turned two (she's now 4.5...let's not talk about the yearly photo albums as I'm clearly way behind) we had a joint birthday party with her best friend.  Their birthdays are a week apart and it was a big celebration as her little friend and his family were just about to move out of town (tear).

As the moms of these two things we decided on a One Thing Two Thing birthday party and the theme was super fun!  There are so many ideas for a One Thing Two Thing themed party. 

Instead of a cake, we made cupcakes ice cream cones and built a Cat in the Hat cupcake stand out of cardboard and paper.  We made the kids matching One Thing Two Thing shirts out of simple red tanks I picked up for a few bucks at Walmart. I cut out white felt circles, wrote "Olivia is 2" and "Conor is 2" on them, and pinned them on the shirts (that way they could still wear them after the party).

Lego birthday party ideas (Lots of photos and cuteness!)

Lego birthday invitations

When my son turned one I decided it would be a Lego themed birthday party.   My husband questioned  "Why Legos?" and quite honestly the only reason was because I came across some super cute ideas.  Plus, his first birthday is likely the only one I'll ever have a say in picking the theme.

I enjoy party planning and find that when I have a theme I'm most inspired.  That being said I had legos running through my dreams for weeks.

Of course, the theme started with the invitations.  I found two different lego fonts online and used them on his first birthday invitations to create a "1."  On the opposite side of the card I glued six large circles to make it look like a lego piece.

I used one of the same fonts to print out Lego letters and lego men to make a "Happy Birthday" banner.  I think it came out pretty cute...although it did take some time.  

Potty Training: Won't Poop? Sh*t happens... eventually

One of my kids' favorites books

Both of my kids were potty trained before they were two and the biggest struggle was to get them to poop on the potty. It's normal. It's frustrating. It's messy. It's perhaps the most common potty training problem out there. But rest assure, my fellow moms...after pee, poop will come. It may take an extra few days, it may take weeks, months or upwards of year -- but eventually your potty trained kid will poop on the potty.

My daughter was one of those kids that would simply wait until she had a Pull Up on for nap to take her after lunch dump. My son, well, he has a harder time holding it. It's actually pretty comical to watch him walk around on his tip toes, run to the potty every other minute, sit down, fart, and then pop back up to an empty potty.   

Potty Training Tips: 10 ways I trained my 22 month old son in less than a week

The Internet has no shortage of potty training tips...many of them from well-intended doctors and other self-proclaimed and actual experts.  If you ask me, when it comes to potty training the best person to ask for advice is a mom who's been through it.  (Hello, nice to meet you!)   That's exactly what I did and with the support of my girlfriend I successfully potty trained my 22 month old son in under a week using the 3 day Potty Training Boot Camp Method.

Now, I'm on the other side and am here to offer you my 10 tips for potty training quickly and successfully:

1. Take advantage of interest: My son started showing signs of potty training readiness around 18 months old.  I made a half-hearted effort to potty train him then, but it didn't work so I quit because come on the kid was soooo young.  However, when at 21 months and 3 weeks old he started pulling off his diaper when he had to pee, I knew I had to take advantage of it -- 6 days later he's telling me when he has to pee and staying dry in his underwear. 
2. Start pre-2 years old:  If possible start potty training your child before their second birthday.  By doing so, you avoid that stubborn and controlling behavior they begin to display... you know, during the "Terrible 2s."

How to make Muno cake from Yo Gabba Gabba...Try it, You'll Like It!

If there was one thing Olivia wanted for her birthday (besides a pink trumpet) it was a Muno cake. "Who's Muno?" you ask...Muno is the big, red, bumpy cyclops from the Nick Jr. show Yo Gabba Gabba.

I have to admit if there was a Yo Gabba Gabba cake to make - the Muno cake is probably the easiest. Thankfully she didn't want a Plex cake or DJ Lance Rock!

Here's how to make a Muno cake:

What you'll need:

• 1 box cake
• Red food coloring
• 1 container of white icing
• 1 package of oreo cookies
• 1 plain large sugar cookie
• Red gum drops

1. Bake a box cake in a 9x13 dish. Make sure to put a lot of cooking spray in the bottom of the pan so you can easily remove the cake
2. Let the cake cool completely. 
3. Carefully remove the entire cake from the dish and flip or slide onto a jelly roll pan.
4. Using a sharp knife, trim only the top corners off the cake. 
5. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of white icing
6. Mix the rest of the icing with red food coloring in the mixer
7. Spread the entire cake with red icing
8. Spread the reserved white icing on a sugar cookie and place the icing-side up on the cake as Muno's eye
9. Twist the top off an Oreo and place it in the center of the sugar cookie as the 'eyeball.' 
10. Place the red gum drops all over the cake being sure to leave enough room to make the mouth. 
11. Separate about 10 Oreos and remove the cream.
12. From two of the cookies, carefully scrape the cream out and cut into triangles to use as Muno's teeth. Set aside.
13. Crush just the cookie part of the Oreos in the food processor. This will be used for Muno's mouth.
14. Draw Muno's mouth (like a crescent moon) on a piece of paper. Cut out the insert. 
15. Gently lay the piece of paper with the mouth cutout on the cake (the gum drops will hold it off the icing.
16. Sprinkle the crushed cookie crumbs into the mouth cutout so the crumbs form the mouth shape on the cake.
17. Remove the paper and add more gum drops in the area of needed.
18. Place Muno's teeth over his cookie crumb mouth
19. Try it, you'll like it!  

Getting a toddler to sleep later - The Green Light clock to the rescue!

If your toddler is an early riser, like many, there is hope. Dream on if you think the answer is teaching them to how to use the DVR remote so they can be safely entertained while you keep snoozing. We found the answer a year and a half ago or so in the 'green light.'

My three year old lives and well...sleeps by what she calls the 'green light.' I've caught her telling her baby dolls about the green light. I've even witnessed the daddy in her doll house setting the green light.  In other words: the green light rules in our house.

The actual name for it is is the Ok to Wake! Children's Alarm Clock and Nightlight.  Here's how it works: you simply pick the time in the morning (or nap) that it is okay for your child to wake up.  Set the clock and the wake up time. When the clock strikes 7am or whatever time, the clock will illuminate green...letting your child know it is okay to wake now and get out of bed.

When you first start using it, set the wake up time for about 15 minutes after your child is currently waking up. Then, gradually move the wake up time back until the desired time. It may take a few days for your child to understand the concept, but once they do they'll realize that if they wake up and the green light's not on they should either go back to sleep or at least stay quietly in bed. 

We have used the Okay to Wake clock almost exclusively for morning wake ups. However, if my daughter is giving me trouble at nap time I will set the clock for an acceptable time and say that at that time her nap can be over. Most times, by the time the light goes on she's fallen asleep anyway.

You can also set the light so it stays on for an extended period of time - if you don't, it goes off after 15 minutes. This presents a problem if say you set it for 7am and your child sleeps until 7:20. They will wake up and see the light is not on and may stay in bed. (Not that that's a bad thing, but when you're first trying to establish the clock make sure the light's on when the child wakes up.)

By the way, the clock also comes with a changeable pink front plate for girls who insist green just won't do!

Bye Bye Binky: Take 2 (Finally, success)

For my loyal readers you know I tried, and failed, to successfully wean my daughter from the binky around her first birthday.  I did, however, give her a 19th month birthday present: the title "big girl." And yes, I'm proud to say just three days later she's successfully and completely weaned.

I've long-decided it was time for my little girl to give up on her beloved binkies. Olivia, on the other hand, not so much. I put my foot down about a week ago when she started calling them each by their own name. We had blue (her favorite), green, white and clear. She'd gleefully hold all four in her hands, look me right in the face and say "eat" as she rotated each binky in and out, in and out. We have still yet to figure out what prompted the rotation...was it she needed a "fresh" binky and what was "fresh?" Anyway, the attachment was quickly increasing and so was my concern that breaking up the relationship between Olivia and binky was only going to get harder.

We settled on the cutting method which I found online. It was recommended by a pediatrician and sworn on by parents. It was, however, highly discouraged by my pediatrician who said my daughter may bite the cut binky tip and that could be a chocking hazard.  Instead, he suggested either the "Binky Fairy" or the binky giveaway.  Since the binky fairy method requires a lot more backstory and time, I opted for the binky giveaway...although, to be honest, I didn't think my daughter would buy it.  Basically, he suggested telling her babies needed her binkies now that she was a big girl. Perhaps he doesn't know Olivia...sharing isn't her...or any 19 month old that I know...strongsuit. But I went with it.

Monday, I put her in the car, all four binkies in hand, and took her to the local CVS (I couldn't have her throw them away anywhere close to our house or I'd be too tempted to fish them out and give them back when the going got tough...and it would!).  I showed her the trash can outside the store and told her it was collection site for baby stuff.  Everything in there, I said, was going to go to a little baby.  She happily threw blue, green, clear and white in and waved bye-bye as they lay on top of a crumpled up paper McDonald's cup.  That site will forever be etched in my mind. We turned around and drove home.

I put her for her nap about 10 minutes after she and the binky parade parted ways.  Unlike when she normally goes to sleep, she cried. But never once did she mention her binkies. I could tell she was just a little out of sorts and truly sad. She missed her binkies. That was the first of just three sleep periods (nap, bed, nap) where she cried before going to sleep.  Just two and a half days after throwing her binkies in a big ol' trash can she's over it.  I even followed up the binky giveaway by showing her a newborn with a binky and telling her this was the special baby who got her old one.  Gosh, I hate lying to her...but snatching her binkies when she wasn't looking and throwing them away without her knowing was NOT an option, it would be too traumatizing. I needed to her be in control and this way she was.

I can tell she feels proud of herself...and as her mom, I do too!

Sleep, Oh Sleep...where art thou?

I'm sorry that I have been a bad blogging mommy. But I do have a legit excuse. My usual writing time, aka nap time, has been cut in half the last few weeks. Clearly, loooonnnngggg gone are the days when my sleeping beauty would sleep anywhere...for hours on end!

Olivia is s.l.o.w.l.y. going down to one nap and it has been a painful process...for me, not her. I blogged a few weeks ago with some tips on transitioning from two to one naps, but I think I need to make some amendments to my advice. Some of it, I've realized is flat out wrong (at least for Olivia, maybe not for your child since there seems to be no 'right' or 'wrong' way to do this).  I guess that's what you get since motherhood has proven, to me at least, to be trial and error.

Some days she manages fine on one nap (usually around 11:30am) other days she's ready for a nap at 9:30 in which case I force her to take an afternoon nap. The problem is no matter what time she goes down for a nap she'll only sleep for 90 minutes. That's a problem when she gets up at 11am and is up for the rest of the day because she refuses to take an afternoon nap.  It's still a problem when she gets up at 1pm because she's a miserable mess by 5pm, but it's too late to put her down for a second nap.

You're probably wondering why I'm so worried about the 90 minute nap? If she's sleeping 12-13 hours at night why lose sleep over it (pun intended)? The problem is she wakes up crying from her naps, she's still clearly tired, but she has a huge poop in her diaper and won't go back to sleep even after I change it. I've tried changing it and putting her back down, I've tried leaving her up there for 20-30 minutes hoping she'll realize it's not time to get up and fall back asleep. Nothing works.  I've also tried and tried to put her down for an afternoon nap when she gets up too early, but she resists. I feel like I've tried the nap schedule every which way but nothing works.

• Early lunch at 11am, nap at 11:30. She wakes up at 1pm with a poop and refuses to go back down. 
• Early lunch at 11am, play time to encourage poop, nap at 12pm. She's exhausted and can't stay up late enough to poop...wakes up at 1:30pm with a poop and refuses to go back down.
  
• Snack at 10am, Nap at 11:30. She wakes up at 1pm hungry and refuses to go back down
• Nap at 9:30 am, wake up at 11. Lunch at 12pm. Refuses an afternoon nap no matter what I do.
  

Twice I have been able to keep her up until about 12:30 and both those days she's slept until at least 3pm. Also I've noticed that she's pooped before her nap on those days. So now I'm trying to figure out how to encourage a big ol' poopy diaper before the single early afternoon nap.

Aw, the 'projects' I never imagined I'd have to tackle before I was entered new mamahood!

What's been your strategy for moving your child from two naps to one? 

More Sleep & Nap Help

How to Get a Baby to Sleep

Getting Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night

Crying It Out: The Last Resort

Trouble With Naps

The 45 Minute Nap

How Much Sleep Does My Baby Need

Get Some Sleep: Turn Off the Baby Monitor

Unswaddling: Cold Turkey Style

Inexpensive playroom decorating ideas

My living room is thanking me right about now.  Our newly finished playroom has provided some much needed relief from the over abundance of toys, stuffed animals, and riding toys that were taking over the family room.

The way our home is set up the main floor is on the second level. The ground level is a large open room that has somewhat of an obvious divide. The front we've always used as a home office, the back...well...that's up for debate. It was a "craft room," a storage facility...okay, I'll admit it: it was wasted space. It was also the perfect spot for a playroom.

Not wanting to spend much money on updating the room, but knowing it needed some fixing up before it was suitable for a toddler, it became my most recent DIY project.  So I started looking for some playroom decorating ideas and here's what I came up with.

Using my daughter's toys brightly colored toys for inspiration I picked a cheery yellow color paint for the walls.

With limited space but still wanting to give my daughter a creative outlet, I opted to paint a chalkboard on the wall, rather than take up floor space with an easel. I have half a can of chalkboard paint leftover, and already have a few ideas how to use it!

We purchased a full size pull-out sleeper sofa off of Craiglist. It's no wonder it was for sale. Not only does the thing weigh what must be 100 pounds, it's ugly as anything.  The addition of the sofa provides seating and a much needed extra bed for overnight guests.

The arms of the sofa are such that I was unable to find a slip cover without getting it custom made. For a play room that was simply not an option for me.  Thus the DIYer in me got inspired by a set of sheets. I searched a online and bought two blue and white striped queen size flat sheets on clearance.  Over the next few weeks I crafted my own slip cover and I must say I'm pretty impressed with myself.

I had enough left over material to make three simple window treatments as well.

Surprisingly, the spare TV still works despite the inch of dust, dog hair and bugs it gathered over the past two years sitting in the corner. But without cable in the room, we moved our DVD player to the playroom (our newly purchased Play Station 3 doubles as a DVD player for the living room...I'd never admit it to my husband who had to have it...but I guess it turned out to be a useful buy) for my daughter to watch movies.

I purchased an inexpensive TV stand with adequate storage for toys, books, DVDs, and whatnot to further organize the space. 

To get even more stuff off the floor and to avoid taking up more floor space, my daughter will be getting a toy hammock to hang on the playroom wall for stuffed animals.

Can of paint: $25 (-$5 mail-in rebate)
Chalk Board Paint: $10
Sofa bed: $100
Sheets for sofa slip cover: $40
TV stand: $130 from Target, $125 on Amazon.com


Playroom Updates: $300


Have you created a designated play room in your home? Share your best playroom decorating ideas with us by leaving a comment below!