Back to My Roots (AKA Chicken Nuggets Are The Bomb)

   Growing up, I was a  big believer that there was pretty much one edible meal: chicken nuggets. I didn't particularly care where they came from, but if we were going out to eat, fast food or otherwise, I wanted chicken nuggets.

   For that matter, I still get chicken at most restaurants. Go figure.

   But that's beside the point.

  The point is that chicken nuggets is always a pretty safe bet for a tasty meal. Except it's normally not something I'd throw in the particularly healthy category. A lot of recipes for them require a deep fryer and powdered sugar.


  Whut. There's sugar in my chicken nuggets?? No wonder I love( ahem, loved--you knew what I meant) them!



  The other significant piece of information for this post is that my grocery shopping day is Friday. And, I shopped on Wednesday last week due to odd circumstances
, so I'm getting to the scraping the bottom of the barrel for meals stage by yesterday and today. When thinking about dinner yesterday, I opened my fridge and took stock.

Broccoli? Nope, used the last of it Monday.

Cauliflower? Finished it off Tuesday.

Zucchini? Forget it, I mixed it with tomatoes and basil for a snack for the kids the other afternoon.

Cucumber? I have one. One. What the gravy am I going to do to feed four people their veggies with one cucumber?? Pointless.

Bell peppers? Onions? Bananas? Cheddar cheese? ---seriously?? I'm out of cheese??

I did have carrots, though, which is kind of a plus. I say "kind of" because it's one of the few veggies the girls outright refuse to eat. Hence, it's survival in the fridge.

So, after much thought, I took to Pinterest and searched for something I could do with the ingredients I had. And, lo and behold:

Chicken nuggets. Seriously. I was going back to my roots. Chicken nuggets for dinner. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it.

I went through quite a few recipes until I found one that fit our fairly low carb, low sodium, no processed sugar needs. And, guys.

Guys.

You can't even understand. You've got to try these. ASAP.

Not kidding. These will change your life. Here's the link:

http://damndelicious.net/2014/12/26/parmesan-chicken-bites/

Of course, I omitted the salt and replaced it with a little more garlic powder.  Honestly, you could probably cut it out without any replacement and not notice. Parmesan cheese is PACKED with sodium, so it doesn't really need any extra help in the salt department.

These things got GONE. In record time. And, since there was no added salt, no added sugar, it wasn't super high in carbs, it wasn't something I felt even remotely bad about feeding my family.

(Even if we skimp on watching the carbs and sugar, salt has a huge impact on Lilah-Bear. We have to be super careful about it. If she eats too much sodium--which is in everything, if you read your labels--she swells the next day like a water balloon. And it takes a couple days of REALLY watching and increased water intake to get her back to her normal self.)

Ooh, one more little side note about those: I knew I wouldn't have time to chop up the chicken, do all the dredge work, etc. in the afternoon, so I did all the prep work while the kids napped and stored them in a Ziploc gallon bag until we were ready to cook them. I didn't cook them six at a time, either; I just dumped half a bag in at a time and did it in two batches. Coconut or olive oil either one works beautifully to cook them in. Once we got ready to cook them, dinner was ready in about ten minutes. This is a great prep-ahead meal. Great.

Now. What to do for a side? I've never really cared one way or the other about sides, but Matt really loves them. He doesn't believe a meal is complete without a side. I returned to the fridge and stared at it until inspiration struck.

What goes with chicken nuggets?

French fries, obviously. Delicious, high sodium, starchy french fries... I nearly drooled thinking about it.

It's probably just as well that I didn't have any potatoes on hand, honestly...but, I did have...carrots? Could it be? Pinterest assured me that carrot fries were, in fact, a thing. Score!

And, the Nutrition Twins gave me a good introduction to them!

Again, here's your link:
http://nutritiontwins.com/spicy-carrot-fries/

We liked them, but a couple quick notes: First, these are not crunchy. If you're looking for crunchy, well...don't look here. They're cooked carrot. So, they're tender. And delightful for dipping and we didn't have any of those left either, I didn't even get a good picture. But, not crunchy. Consider yourself warned.

Secondly, they have a little bit of an afterburn. I mean, we're a family who's two year old bit into a habanero and did ok with it. So, we liked that. But, check these ingredients: chili powder and cayenne pepper. It's got some burn. But, they were super tasty, and come highly recommended!!

Especially if you look in your fridge and you only have carrots left...

But, seriously, guys, this was a rockin'-gone-in-no-time with no left overs at all kind of meal. Give it a go, and tell me what you think!!

Vanilla Chai Breakfast Quinoa Bowl--Baby Steps to a Healthier Us

I can't say I've ever been a particularly healthy eater. Throughout my life, if I had a desire to diet or change eating habits, it was more about loss than anything else. You know the feeling: instead of looking up good ways to improve your eating, you look at what all needs to be cut out of your daily life.

Cookies.

Coke.

Cake.

Sugar-laden delicacies that made up my entire list of favorite foods.

Creamy mac and cheese, with more cheese in one bite than you normally have all day.

Chicken and dumplings.

Chicken pot-pie with a warm buttery biscuit perched on top.

(Are you noticing that all the tastiest treats start with a 'c'? Weird.)

Anyway, over the past several months, a few things happened that have slowly started to overhaul, not just my diet, but the whole way I look at food.

First. In the last two years, I've had two babies and I'm still a big ol' girl. I'm actually as big now as when I delivered my first daughter. That's embarrassing to think, much less to admit out loud or in text. I wouldn't say I've ever had just stellar self-esteem, but my weight issues are putting it squarely in the toilet. I need a change. For me. To feel good, both physically and emotionally.

Second. My youngest daughter is one and is already weighing in far more than they would like. With the family histories all the way around, the doctor wants us to keep a close eye on what she eats. Now, I've always been fairly careful with what I feed the girls. Less so with what I feed Matt and I. And, now, the girls are old enough to see the difference. We can't continue eating junk and then trying to convince them that veggies are the new Twix bars. We, as a family, needed a change.

At first, I tried an overhaul the way I had in the past--no carbs! No sugar! No ANYTHING THAT MAKES LIFE TASTE GOOD. Nothing! Forget it!!

And, ya know what? That sucked. Thoroughly. So, like the addict that I am, I hit up Pinterest. All of a sudden, I had a wealth of recipes at my fingertips that...well, they actually looked pretty good! Fruits, veggies, healthy cooking...that could be...good? I could eat something and not feel deprived if I didn't follow it up with a cold soda and warm, gooey cookie? (Cutting out soda has still been my least favorite part of this whole thing, not gonna lie.)

No way.

And, yet...it's true! I've found my journey to discovering how to eat and cook healthier liberating! To not automatically discount a recipe because I didn't think I liked the ingredients frees up A LOT of recipes for me. And, my husband is a saint who doesn't care at all what weird things I want to try. His general response is, "Yeah, I'll give it a shot." I don't think he's said no to a single thing so far. (Even though I may have tested him this morning by sending him a Pin to a hot pink beet soup.)

And, if I intentionally "forget" that I don't like something--take peppers, for example--then when I cook it, it's like trying it for the first time. Some recipes still don't work for us. I can think of a couple that have fallen totally flat. (I find that many of those have been because they've been touted to be similar to some sweet treat that I love. I like spinach a lot. But, you can't have it be the base of a smoothie and call it a thin mint and swear it tastes just like a girl scout cookie. That's blasphemy.)
But, some recipes have been an absolute delight! The whole family has enjoyed them, and we'll definitely be adding them to our monthly cooking rotation.

I've actively enjoyed sitting down and reading up on various ingredients, and what they can do for your body. How nutrition affects our bodies and even our mental state is absolutely fascinating! Lilah is far more receptive to trying to new things than Mads is. I read an article on the words "You don't have to eat it" that changed my life, though. (The gist is that you can say, "You don't have to eat it", and without the pressure, they usually are more willing to give it a shot. Thus far, it's proven true. Of course, that's followed up by the I'm-not-making-you-a-separate-dinner statement.) And, with the understanding that it's what everyone is having and there isn't another choice, she usually comes around fairly quickly.

Plus, knowing more about what we're putting in makes me more excited to try new things--especially when I've had some successes throughout the week. This morning's WONDERFUL success was a Vanilla Chai Quinoa Bowl.  (See how it sort of starts with a 'C', too?? You know it's bound to be good!)

For those interested, the original recipe was obtained from Flavor the Moments, found here:
 http://flavorthemoments.com/vanilla-chai-breakfast-quinoa-bowls/

Oh. My. Gravy.

The thing was delicious.

Admittedly, I made a few small changes. For one thing, I didn't choose apples for my topper. We had some blueberries and strawberries that were going to need to be frozen or eaten in the very near future, so I went that route.

I also didn't have any yogurt that wasn't already promised to other recipes, so I didn't use it. It was still filling to the extreme--I doubt very much if I could have eaten yogurt if I wanted to! I didn't even finish my whole bowl, and, here I sit, hours later, still full as a tick. Nor did I have maple syrup, as I really don't care for maple as a taste in general--so I used raw organic honey. It was wonderful!


Doesn't it look AMAZING? (Even prettier picture is the one Marcie at Flavor the Moments posted on the recipe. I never thought of food as gorgeous before.)

Seriously. Go to her page. Look at it. You'll be running to the kitchen to try it out.

Couple of notes about this: 1.) It takes nearly a half hour to make. Be prepared for that. I didn't read far enough ahead and ended up being VERY ready to eat by the time I got it finished.)  2.) My blueberries were frozen, but after about fifteen seconds in the hot quinoa, they were the perfect addition to each bite!

All in all, I loved this recipe--I can't wait to try it out on the husband!

That being said, I wanted to start posting more on my blog again anyway--and since the food aspect is such a part of our life as a family right now, I figured I'd include it! (Especially since I can't actually keep blowing up Facebook with recipes you all NEED to try.) This way, if you want the recipe, I'll link to it in the blog--give credit where it's due and all that--and note any modifications we made.

Try this, though--enjoy it--and, if you liked it, let me know in the comments below!! (Especially if you modified in any way, I'd love to give your way a shot!)

Thanks for walking through this whole "baby steps to a healthier us" post, lol!

Fear and Peace

I didn't understand fear before kids. I mean, sure, I'm scared of things. I dislike large bodies of water, I'm not fond of spiders or dark streets, and I go out of my way to be sure and triple sure that our doors are locked before I go to bed, because, hey, home invasion just isn't my cup of tea.

But I didn't understand fear. The gut-wrenching, powerless kind of fear that makes your heart hammer and steals the breath from your lungs. That was something I didn't get. And, though the kids have given me some frights over my time as a mother, Lilah about took the cake Saturday night.

And, it was through my own fear and helplessness that I gained an even deeper grasp of the Lord's protection, His grace, and His love.

Thursday evening, I got the distinct sense there was something off about my sweet one year old. I couldn't put my finger on it, and there really weren't any symptoms, but she just didn't seem quite right.

Friday, I spent the night with my very dear friend, and, though I had an absolutely stellar time, I was plagued by worry for my girl. I enjoyed my time away, and I definitely believe God used that to rejuvenate me for the ordeal we were about to go through. Still, I didn't stay long on Saturday--I was home by 12:30. By that point, Lilah had a fairly low-grade fever. She seemed to be feeling poorly; all her sister's attempts to play were rebuffed firmly, she was fussy, and she just wanted to be held. Not long before six, she asked to go Night Night. We held out until close to 6:30, then put both the girls to bed.

Matt and I stayed up til closer to nine before we went to bed. When Madelyn woke up screaming, it seemed like we had just closed our eyes. Her cries were insistent and shrill, so we jumped up and ran in there. Her foot was tucked between the bars, but she pulled it out and smiled when we opened the door. She was perfectly willing to go back to sleep. Lilah was fussing, wakened by her sister, so we popped in to check on her.

"She's really warm," Matt commented, so we took her temperature.

103.8.

Tylenol, a cool bath, and some frozen snacks and cool milk later, her fever was unchanged.

Though I don't usually ascribe to having the kids in our bed--that's a place for Mommy and Daddy, after all!--we had Li laying between us, discussing how to proceed. Having brought up the possibility of a febrile seizure, we cobbled together a game plan. It never occurred to me that, really and truly, we would need it.

No sooner than the final component--who would ride in the ambulance and who would drive--was finalized, Lilah leaned over to me and began shivering. She'd been shivering a little off and on throughout the night with fever chills, so Matt patted her gently.

"Poor little nug," he said, rubbing her back. "She's shivering--I know she feels like she's cold."

I felt my stomach sink and tilted down to look closer. Sure enough, her eyes were rolled back, her jaw clamped tight around the finger she crooks and sucks to sleep.

"I don't think she's shivering," my voice shook. "I think she's seizing." Without further discussion, we did what we'd just spent the last few minutes planning for. He called 911, I called my mother to come tend to our other daughter.

The ten minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive may have been the longest of my life so far. Matt and I took it in turns, one of us getting dressed, while the other sat with Lilah, pulling her out of the puddles of drool spreading from beneath her face. The ambulance was there quickly, considering how far from anything we live, but I just kept asking where were they? Because watching her seize for ten minutes was ten minutes too long.

Matt was calm and steady as a rock--he grabbed diapers, wipes, met the ambulance, helped them get the car seat out and strapped to the gurney. Point of interest: when rushing young children to the ER, they get your car seat and strap it to the gurney. Did you know that? We didn't.

I watched from the side of the bed while they propped her up and tried to fit an oxygen mask around her hand to get to her nose and mouth. While they gave her a shot of something up her nose to try and bring her out of it. While they measured her feet against a chart and dubbed them "purple". They checked her blood sugar, asked for allergies and how long she'd been seizing and all the other questions that are vital to know.

My mom arrived as they were getting her into the car seat. My mom is terribly good in a crisis, and, even at three in the morning, she was prepared with a spare diaper bag and a blanket--she turned white when she saw Lilah, still shaking uncontrollably, her eyes rolled so far back in her head you could barely see them.

They wouldn't let me ride in the back of the ambulance--she wasn't under control enough, so I climbed in the front and tried hard to ignore the sounds of them working on her in the back. I felt my gut clench when they decided she needed more medicine, and that she still hadn't come out of it. I glanced at my phone. 30 minutes in.

I'm pretty unfamiliar with seizures, but that seemed like a super long time to me. I prayed most of the drive up there, and it's a blessing that the Holy Spirit translates for you when you are at  a loss for what to say, because I was. There was a brief pause where I assured the ambulance driver that he could tell the cops NOT to chase the white Corolla, because that was ours.

She came out of her seizure as were pulling into Children's parking lot, nearly 45 minutes after she'd started. There was the flurry of motion and information and checking her and all the things before they left us sitting in the room, alone for the first time since the whole mess had started.

We'd have a couple days more of exhaustion and frazzled nerves and tests and meetings with various doctors, but it was at that point, holding her and rocking her on the pale blue sheets of an ER bed, that I was totally struck by how completely God had this.

I wasn't even home the night before. It didn't happen then.

Madelyn, who has been sleeping through the night for over a year, woke us up. We would have slept through the whole thing.

I am SO not a fan of kids in the bed, but I'd been anxious about the thought of leaving her alone. She was laying right beside us.

We had literally just talked about what all we'd need to do IF it would happen, despite not ever believing that it really would. There was no pause, no need for discussion. The whole event went as smoothly as it possibly could.

My Mom heard the phone and answered and was there not ten minutes after the ambulance arrived. I mean, seriously, if you know my Mom, the woman goes to bed at 7. She answered the phone.

Through one of the most terrifying events of my life, God was so obvious. His protection and grace was so evident. There was not one step of the way that He wasn't in total control of.

I've never known fear like I felt Saturday before having kids. That saying that they are your heart walking around outside your body? So true.

In that place, I've never known peace like the one that comes with the complete knowledge that God was in every little detail like I did Saturday and all the days that have followed.

Praise God again and again and again for His omnipresent LOVE and grace and presence and peace and protection. He's so good.

Themed Toddler Time

       I am all about themed events for kids. Seriously, I don’t much care if it’s a minor holiday, major holiday, birthday, Sunday, or sunny day, I want to make a themed event for it. I enjoyed sensory bins and games, always, but, since I now have a 15 month old and a 4 month old—I’m even more obsessed! (After all, I have to find some way to channel the older one’s energy so I can tend to the younger one!)

        

    My preference falls into the “invitation to play”/”imaginative play” and sensory activities category. Whereas I think step-by-step instructions and games that require them are fun, since my kids are so young, I find it far more enjoyable to set something up and then allow them to explore it for themselves. Because of this, I’m not huge into scheduling, per se. Instead, I tend to select several themed ideas for large activities and a few smaller ones and watch how the event unfolds. That way, I can adapt to suit whatever the kids are enjoying the most—because, let’s be honest, it usually isn’t what you think it’s going to be. For example, I facilitate a monthly event for young kids called “Traveling Tuesday.” Each Tuesday, we (pretend to!) go someplace different. One week, we were going on safari. I planned and crafted different animals for the kids to feed balls to. There was a lion, a monkey, a kangaroo—in my mind’s eye, this would be the hit of the party! I also used a large cardboard box to make a safari jeep—oh, yes, I could see it in my head! Those two things were going to be the favorites.  At the last minute, I decided to make some toilet-paper roll binoculars. I tossed them into the jeep so as not to forget them, and away I went. Of all the activities, of all the crafts and games, above even the jeep—the binoculars were by far the kids’ favorite thing to play with. Instead of feeding the animals, as I’d imagined, we played hide and seek, allowing two kids(or me!) to be on the safari and find the animals. Each time the children posing as animals were seen, the safari goer would yell, “SPOTTED!” and we’d switch. Seriously. We played that for over an hour, and the kids were all about taking those binoculars home. This day taught me the true value of just seeing how things pan out and the need to adjust as the day unfolds.

         

 

  Obviously, doing a little themed mini-party every week(I started out weekly—recently, we’ve changed to monthly!) could get expensive. At first, I really was sinking my own ship, trying to build different things to suit wherever we happened to be travelling to. That’s when I discovered the GLORY of reuse. At this point, I really think anyone can make anything out cardboard. A cardboard box is a beautiful thing—it can be a jeep, a castle, a car, a ship. Really, whatever you want it to be. And, the wonder of it is this: it doesn’t have to be perfect! When we “traveled” to the Caribbean…geez, my ship looked rough! I painted it and, for my youngest, slapped a Bumbo chair inside. For two weeks, I could set my youngest in the Bumbo, and my eldest daughter would crawl in alongside her and chatter away, clutching little felt fishes tightly. (That’s another great way to theme on the cheap! Felt is like 3 dollars for 12 pieces, and a little can go a long way!)

            Finally, thanks to my aunt, the most significant way we save money is making your actual creation re-usable. In order to do this, it has to be something that is easy to store. This week, we travelled to Ireland. Our castle was huge. I mean, massive. With the moat, easily seven feet across. And, thanks to the wonder of Velcro, that thing, moat and all, became condensed enough to fit in the trunk of my car. The moat, made of dyed cloth and pool noodles, folded up. The fish, made of foam and magnets(the fishing poles had washers on the end, so the fish could be caught) went neatly into a plastic bag, and voila! The whole thing is ready to be played with again on some other rainy day! A whole other story waiting to be told(though, today, we mostly played the characters from the movie Brave and had fishing competitions!), this time, cost-free!

        

   This post was inspired by Eventbrite, who specialize in supporting self-created events with event management software. In my opinion, the key to hosting themed, cost-effective parties boils down to three things: flexibility(don’t plan super stringent plans. Toddlers will systematically dismantle them. Besides, it’s fun to see what their little minds come up with!), reusable play ideas, and cardboard. J Happy playing!

New Year's Resolutions!

     I know New Year’s Resolutions are so common as to be almost cliché. I’m sure blog posts relaying said resolutions are even more so. And, yet—here I go!

     I spent quite a bit of time thinking about resolutions over the past couple of weeks. Of course, when I first started considering them, about a million jumped to mind: lose weight, keep a better house, a thousand ways I could be a better mother to my children, a better wife to my husband. It felt a little like when I sit down in the morning to make my day’s To-Do list. If I give myself more than ten minutes to make it, I’ll wind up with a far longer list than I have hours in the day to accomplish. The more I thought about what all I wanted to improve on this year, the more things came to mind.

  Fortunately, at that point, I stumbled on a post by MoneySavingMom sharing her resolutions. I don’t know if you read her stuff or not, but that girl must stay hopping! I swear, she seems a little like Superwoman to me. Her post, though, shared how this year, for her, was going to be the year of “Rest”. That was the word she was going to live by this year. Still, she wanted to have some resolutions. So, she picked four “big” areas of her life, and then picked ONE resolution that would help her to improve on that area. These were attainable, measureable goals that allowed her to both see progress in that area, and to still not be overwhelmed by a whole list of things to work on. After reading that post, I decided to do something similar—after all, how depressing is it to get to the end of the To-Do list and still have a ton of things not marked off? How much worse to get to the end of the year and realize you’ve not stuck to a single resolution, and you’re about to have to start the process all over?

  The areas I chose to focus on were my personal growth, my marriage, being a better mother to my children, my health, organization, and my house.

  First, because, in the end, if I’m totally tapped, I won’t be able to really work on the others is my personal growth. I know I get so overwhelmed that I often neglect my quiet times. Without Christ as my rest, I PROMISE I’ll wind up too overwhelmed/tapped out/exhausted to improve on much of anything. So, my first resolution is to carve out time, preferably before my kids are even awake, to have a quiet time—with at least a portion of that being dedicated to memorizing Scripture. I think it’s so important to do that; the first psalm talks about meditating on the Lord’s law day and night. Hard to do that if I don’t know it. 

  Secondly, my marriage. My goal here is to spend more quality time with my husband—just my husband, no kids. I intend to dedicate at least one night a month to just him. Whether that is a game night (I STILL need to beat him at Battleship!) or a movie or just general hanging out, I want some dedicated “us” time. We were a couple before we were a family.

  Third is being a better mom to my beautiful girls. They’re charming and delightful and, especially Madelyn right now, so interactive. I know when I get tired or want some kind of outlet, I tend towards picking up my phone and scanning Facebook or blogs or what have you instead of taking the time to be really, really present with the girls. Not that Facebook, blogs, etc. are bad! (Obviously, since I’m writing one, I don’t feel that way!) But, I do need to be thinking about how much time I spend on them. My daughter goes to bed at seven. She takes two naps. When she’s awake, I don’t need to be scrolling Facebook. So, to be concise—my goal is to put my phone down when the kids are up.

  Fourth, my health. This is a two-parter. (I know, I know, getting frisky here.) The first is to drink 8 glasses of water a day. I know I need to. I know it’s healthy. I also know Dr. Pepper is my preference. So, there’s that. The second part is to walk at least four days a week. This one shouldn’t be too bad—I’ve been doing it for the last several months anyway, and I enjoy it. So does Madelyn. But, this resolution is being written down so that I remember to KEEP doing it, even on the weeks I really don’t feel like it.

  Fifth is organization. If you know my mother, you know she’s the most organized person on the planet. I, however, would lose my head if it wasn’t attached. (Not a handy trait for someone with a 1 year old and a three week old.) This year’s stride in organizational maturity (hopefully!) will be to start meal planning. I’ve seen a ton—and I do mean a TON—of blog posts by busy people who swear by this. I imagine that once I get started, it will make life SO much easier.

 And, finally ( I thought six resolutions was appropriate, since it’s twenty-SIX-teen…), my house. And, for that goal, I have one word: Laundry. I’m terrible at it. I detest doing it. And, funnily enough, Matt still wants clean jeans. So, I am committing to at least one load of laundry—all the way through the washing, drying, folding, and putting away process—per day. Wish me luck on this one. :P

So, those are my 2016 resolutions!! I encourage you to write yours down, too (and then show me, lol, so I know I’m not alone!!).

It's Been A Good While...

    So, it's definitely been a minute since I've posted. In my defense, my pregnancy got more complicated, and then the birth and afterwards were a little hectic as well. Happily, though, we are BACK! :)

This is our brand new daughter--the Duckling. Or, as her Daddy calls her, "Duzzy".
   

The Chicken loves our little Duck. I, for one, was super concerned prior to the birth that she would be extremely jealous, or that the transition to a two-baby family would be something that she would hate. Instead, she's surprised me by ADORING her sister. If anything, I have to watch to be sure she's not trying to wake the baby--one of her new favorite activities is to stand over Sister's swing or bouncer while she's taking a nap and "talk" to her. 

Her first few moments after meeting the Duck in the hospital, she was a little unsure. There was ample thumb sucking and snugging into me, her dad, and her grandparents. Then, she decided that this new baby wasn't too bad! We've been (mostly!) giggles and fun times since then!!

The Chicken especially loves to touch Sister. She likes to touch her feet and unfurl (with close supervision, obviously) the Duckling's little hands to look at her fingers. I'm delighted with how things are going between them!! I think my two little girls are going to be close! :) 

Rice Paint

  My Mom says that tidiness skips a generation. She is immaculate, well-organized, everything in her house has a home-a place it belongs. I hear that her grandmother was the same way. My grandmother and I, however, are a little messier--more cluttered, more tolerant of messes. (After all--a towel, a little cling-wrap, some kitchen/floor/multipurpose cleaner--looks like the mess never even happened, right? :P ). Mom swears that Madelyn is destined to be neat and tidy.

After yesterday's little adventure, I'm almost starting to believe her. A friend of mine--see her blog over at "A Little Piece of Paisley"--and I have decided to, through the holiday months (October-January), take a picture a day of our little ones. They grow so, so fast! So, yesterday, to start things off, I decided it had been too long since Madelyn had enjoyed a bit of sensory play. And, if I could make it Halloween/October/Fall-ish...all the better!

Now, we've done some home-made paint before. It was incredibly runny, however, and Madelyn was quite a bit younger. This time, I mixed some rice cereal and water together to create a sort of globby paste, then mixed it with food coloring. In the spirit of keeping it Halloween-y, I used green, black, and orange. Then, I took six sheets of plain white cardstock--an item my house is rarely without--and taped them together on the back to make one big canvas of sorts. I laid down some towels and globbed my sticky paint all around the page in different places so she wasn't trying to dig it out of the bowl and then get it to the paper. (Since she's in the pick everything up stage, I hoped this would save some of the mess--at least she couldn't spill it!  {See, I'm more mess conscientious than Mom might think!})

Then, I handed Daddy the camera, reasoning that I didn't want to be trying to control a project of that kind of messy potential, and brought Madelyn into the living room, where her new game awaited.  At first, the Chicken seemed smiley and excited.

Then, she touched the goopy rice cereal paint. And she froze. She wiped it on her leg, then stared appalled at the glop on her knee. She tried to scrape it off one hand with the other and was unsuccessful. She looked between me, her Daddy, and the paper in front of her several times with a slightly confused, slightly disgusted look. She does NOT like to get messy (a definite sign that my mother could be correct!)

 She scooted over to me, and I started swiping through the rice paint with my own fingers. Whereas she never really got into playing on the paper, painting Momma turned out to be a blast! She'd scrape paint off the paper and then put it on my hands. Then, she wiped it off onto her own again.

 That is, until Daddy let her taste it. Once he showed her that it was EDIBLE. Well...anyone who knows Madelyn knows that eating is one of her passions.  She loves it. After that, she really lost interest in playing with the paint and stuck, instead, to trying to get it into her mouth. And nose. And hair.

At that point, we decided a bath was in order. I'm not totally sure Madelyn agreed as we were trying to get her TO the bath....but once there--well, there's squirty toys, bubbles, and red cups to be had.  What else is there even to say about that?