"I Did It..."

After a few texts/E-mails from people I respect, urging me to talk to E's teacher about the "Junk" comment, I put my big girl panties on & approached the director at E's school yesterday afternoon.

I did not go directly to her teacher because her teacher leaves at 2, to get her son from school and because a large number of students leave at lunch time (noon) they combine the two 3 year old classes.

E only has one teacher because her class is the smaller of the two (shes in 3A, the other is 3B). The 3B class has 2 teachers and some days 3A&B eat together, some days they don't. So I did not want to accuse anyone, as E did not tell me which teacher made the comment. I love all the teachers at her school so it was very hard for me to do.

I personally struggle with the fact the E barely eats (even food she likes). I almost cried while I was talking to the director, because I do not want to be "that mom", but I also wanted to get to the bottom of the issue.

She told me that during lunch & snack times they discuss nutrition and they will say things like "We don't want junk food in our lunches, lets see who has junk food and who has healthy food"

I let the director know that I pack Es lunches with nutrition in mind and do the best I can do since she is so picky. I am not one to waste food so I am not going to pack something I know she will not eat because it will in fact be wasted. I also told her that not only was that comment hurtful to me but that it also makes it harder to get E to eat in general.

She assured me that she will talk to Es teachers and let them know to use different phrases and the situation with E and her eating habits and how hard I am working to get her to try new things and expand her pallet.

I had really bad anxiety on my way to get E & I was anxious all night following it. I feel much better today and I felt comfortable dropping E off. We will see if E says anything in the coming days/weeks, in regards to anyone saying anything about her lunch.

Thank you for the advice & support yall.

... Keep up in between posts, I tweet A lot.  xo-Kandid Kelli

"Picky Eater"

So as most of you know I have the pickiest eater. She was such a great eater when she was a baby. She would eat any of the babyfood I gave her. She never turned anything down.

I waited till E was about 11/12 mons old to start her on finger foods and table food. My reasoning was she had NO teeth and she was terrible at "gumming" it. She would gag and sometimes throw-up when I gave her solids, at 9/10 months, so I stopped. Immediately. Where I think I went wrong was, I feed her solids/table food too late.

Foods she will eat:
Chicken nuggets
Fish Sticks
Fruit of any kind
Crackers or pretzels of any kinds
Waffles
Cookies
French Fries
Sorbet, popsicles, icecream
chocolate
Some dry cereals
Special K protein bars (has to be chocolate) or Kids Z bars (has to be chocolate)
yogurt, applesauce, jello
nutrigrain bars
Cheetos 


Foods she will NOT eat:
grilled... anything (hotdogs, burgers, chicken, turkey, etc)
Lunch meat
egg
Bread
Peanut Butter
Cheese
Veggies
Pizza
Pasta of any kind
any kind of mexican, italian food

It makes dinner time a hassle... food for her... food for us. (yes I tired the "you eat this or you eat nothing" she ate nothing then cried about being hungry- shes not old enough to understand that you eat what I cook or you don't eat)


A typical lunch for her: yogurt, applesauce or jello, a fruit of some kind, milk (she gets juice 1-2 a week), crackers or pretzels and a protein bar or granola bar.  She gets fruit snacks in her lunch on fridays.

I took her to the peds b/c I was worried that she was not getting enough nutrients. She won't even drink pediasure and like drinks. She loves chocolate but NOT chocolate milk. Her ped told me not to worry, she will eat when she is hungry, offer her healthy foods, but if she will eat fruit and not veggies not to stress b/c they see fruits and veggies as the same thing.

He told me to stick with whole milk till she starts to eat better to ensure that she is getting enough nutrients. Girlfriend will drink milk all-day if I let her. Even after her soccer game she was saying no to the juice we gave out for snack and asking for milk (!), yuck! Milk in 100 degree weather. She fussed about it till we got home and she got some milk. Weirdo!

I was worried about her eating habits when she started pre-school back in Feb. I was worried that her teacher would think that I am a bad mom b/c there was no sandwich in her lunch box or it was not the "traditional lunch" but nothing was ever said about it.

When I was on the search for a new school back in Aug I found "the one" and when she was walking me through a normal 3 year olds day she mentioned lunch and how the students are to bring their own lunch. Perfect, now I know she will eat b/c I know what she likes.

That was great for all of 2 seconds because she proceed to tell me how they require a well rounded meal... Protein, Veggie, Fruit & Grains. She gave me a list of foods that children like in those food groups.

I did not have a problem with: protein, fruit and grains but we never hit the veggie category. E will make herself throw-up if she doesn't like something and you make her take a bite.

I was nervous when I sent her to her new school with her lunch but 2 1/2 weeks went by and nothing was said so I stopped being nervous., until this AM.

There was a note in E's lunchbox on Friday:

I cried. I felt like such a bad mom, like I was being judged. 

I already struggle everyday with what I feed my child and if she is healthy enough. I often wonder if I should try food therapy or making her eat what I cook. 

Over the weekend I scoured the interwebz for ways to sneak veggies into a picky child's diet.

I found a ton of recipes but alot of them called for slipping the veggies into meatballs or meatloaf (two things she will not eat) so after quite the search I found 4 that I made work for us:

Granola Bars

before baking

after baking (soo good)

ingredients:

Oats

fresh Blueberries, dried Cranberries

chocolate chips

coconut

condensed milk and a little butter

The way I added veggies to this? I bough some baby food and I added 2 jars (carrots and squash) to the mix before I baked them and guess what? They are delicious and you can not taste the babyfood. Next time I make them I will puree my own veggies b/c I could have used 4 jars and still been okay. She had a small bar for breakfast and enjoyed it.

Applesauce

apples simmering

after adding the spinach/blueberry puree

ingredients:

4 apples, peeled and cored

sugar

cinnamon

water

The way I added veggies to this? I added pureed spinach (2.5c)+blueberries+lemon juice+water to her apple sauce. It is amazing and you can not taste the spinach. It has a little bit of zip. I love it and its purple so I hope E will love it too. 

Muffins

mix w.added babyfood 

after baking

ingredients:

Muffin mix

milk 

How I added Veggies to this?

I added 2 jars of carrots to the mix and they are great. Very moist, a slight carrot taste. E did not like these but we will try again.

I spoke to E's teacher about what was in her lunch so they know there is in fact veggies in there... they are just disguised. E told me her teacher says I pack "junk" in her lunch box... I don't know if this is true but I am trying my best to be  the best mom I can. I don't know if I should talk to her teacher about the "junk" comment or not. I don't want to be "that mom" but I am so self conscious about my parenting. 

I will continue too look for inventive recipes to add more flavors and nutrients to E's diet. Any suggestions?

...

Keep up in between posts, I tweet, A lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"The Things I am Loving, Right Now"

Eucerin Daily Skin Balance: This stuff is amazing. I have the weirdest skin. It is only dry during the summer months. I call it summer skin. I get really dry feet & legs; I notice it usually around the middle/end of May & it lasts until Novemberish. You would think it would happen in the DRY winter months, but NO not my skin. Happens in the muggy, wet Summer months. Anyways I have seen commercials for this stuff & happened to get a sample somehow in the mail & fell in LOVE. Its about $10- kind of expensive for [drugstore] lotion, but SO worth it. I use it ALL over my body. You will LOVE it.

Victoria's Secret Super Model Perfume: This has been my fav. scent for a few yrs now & for the last two Christmases my Dad & Step Mom have gotten it for me. Its way pricey so I love that they get me the BIGGEST bottle of it- It about lasts me all yr. I wear a few other scents but this is my ALL time fav.

Bobby Pins: This might seem weird but I LOVE LOVE LOVE me some bobby pins. I have a thing of them in my car, and a small cosmetic bag FULL of them (this is from my 20 years of dance) & I can find random BP all over the place, is kind of sad. I use BP daily. I pull my hair back in this curly, but cute mess. As well as pinning my, weird length, bangs back. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't have at least 2 BP in my hair. I rarely have my hair in a ponytail anymore.

The Amazon Kindle2: I have mentioned how much I love my Kindle on multiple occasions, I got it for my birthday last yr from my mom and step dad Tom. It's really no secret that I love reading. I take that sucker with me every where. Its so small and light (it has a case to protect it). I read so mush faster on my Kindle as well. There are some books I still want actual copies of, like any N.Sparks book... I buy in actual print and so on.

Diet A&W Rootbeer [bubbles]: Until Memorial Day weekend I forgot how much I loved Rootbeer and since I only drink diet soda; Diet rootbeer. I am re-hooked. I have a huge sweet tooth, this doesn't completely take the sweet urge away but it helps curb it.

Eggo Nutrigrain Whole Wheat Waffles: If I am not going to make waffles from scratch, these are the only waffle 'cookies' [I may or may not lie & tell her they are 'waffle cookies'] that E will eat. Plus they are the only ones I like. I like these same ones w.blueberries too but since the Eggo factory was flooded late last yr they are still not to full production yet. The rumor is by mid-summer THIS YR! I digress. These waffles are actually pretty good for you & E is a finicky eater so if she will eat an entire waffle I am all for these.  

**Tell Me, What Are The Things YOU Are Loving, Right Now?

...

Have a GOOD & Safe weekend! I think I might be venturing to Liberty Bell-- I am not sure yet. 

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

  

"I am..."

I got the idea for this list from Hailey over at Be Serious . With Mother's Day on Sunday, I thought it was fitting.



...

A... Short Order Cook who can whip something up for the pickiest 2y/o I have ever met. Usually After she has her food and I have mine, I see her little blues eyeing mine and we switch but sometimes I want MINE, so I have learned to have a back-up for these occasions.

A... 5 star chef who can make cheap meals taste gourmet. I rock.

A... Top Notch Bargainer telling my 2y/o if she does this, she can have this (toy- that was taken away b/c of not listening or a single piece of candy as a treat) as a reward for listening- THE FIRST TIME ASKED. The deal goes out the 'window' after the first time.

An... Architect who can build the biggest best block house for 'little people' - it's so awesome, it withstands the town giant, shes 36.5 in of 2y/o terror. I can also put together christmas & birthday presents in record time. I am a wiz w/a screwdriver!

A... Vet who can make puppies and monkeys better with a quick wrap of a blankie and a "all better now", sometimes a smooch is necessary in the more serious cases.

A... Dental Hygienist who has not only learned how to get my stubborn child open her mouth for a proper brushing but I have taught her how to do it so when I am done she does it herself. I have caught her in there trying to 'brush feeth Mama!". I call that a BIG FAT WIN.

A... Translator who is constantly decoding the ramblings of a 2y/o. Most everything she says is coherent but when she gets going too fast/excited translation is needed.

An... Octopus which means I can do numerous things at once b/c of course I have 8 arms & keep it all in order, I checked my sanity at the front desk of the hospital when I gave birth.

A... Teacher who is teaching my 2y/o major life lessons & how to count to 20 (we've got up to 15 so far) & her ABC's & work on reading too, I am ambitious- all before pre-school @ age 3!


A... Pharmacist who has mastered the art of administering eye drops and antibiotics to a child who runs a hides at the mention of meds (bribery, what?).

A... Dr. with magical healing powers, I can heal any boo-boo with a kiss and the sporadic mini (yes it has to be those annoying mini ones) Band-Aid.

A... Fitness Instructor who has convinced myself that dancing with my toddler around the house serves as an aerobic workout.

A... Choreographer who can choreograph a rad routine to Phineas & Ferb, Whitney Duncan, Laura Bell Bundy & the like if we're gunna be rocking out around the house kiddo has got to have moves!

A... Make-Up Artist b/c my toddler is obsessed with getting into my make-up, and wants "MORE ippysticks".

A... Costume Designer b/c when my girl plays dress-up, it gets serious, its more then playing in mommy's clothes & jewerly, she wants to be "so cute!".

A... Detective that can use clues to find where my child is hiding & why. She usually only hides when she knows shes done something 'wrong'.

A... Maid I have tried to give up the job, clothes, bathroom & dishes still get dirty- who would've thunk it?

A... Plumber who unclogs a very clogged toilet when a 'little peson' and too much TP is flushed. I tried to save the little person, but my attempts were futile. The prince now resides in our septic tank. RIP.

A... Chauffeur that is terrible at the whole driving thing, ask anyone who has taken a ride.

I wear many hats.

I am a Daughter to a GREAT mom.

I am a bestfriend .

I am Kelli.

I am a mother.

A mother is all those things and more.

Happy Mothers Day to ALL the Mothers I know & to all those expecting.

...

This is the purse I got from my mom for mothers day! Isn't it beautiful! (I got the pic off the website b/c Im tool azy to actually take a pic)

**I has PURPLE inside & out, My mama knows me soo well!!!**


...

Keep up in between posts, I Tweet , A lot.

xo
-Kandid Kelli

"It's No Secret"

It's No Secret... That I NEED my coffee in the AM.

It's No Secret... That every 6weeks w/o fail (before I moved) you could find me at the salon gossiping w.Mandi w.foils in my hair.

It's No Secret... That every 3.5 weeks I have my kindle or most recent book, my favy OPI nail polish & I politely tell the little Korean guy how I would like my nails filled & I go about reading my book . I am a mother of a toddler I get very little quiet time. I don't feel bad that I don't try to talk to him.

It's No Secret... That I have a HUGE sweet tooth.

It's No Secret...That I am addicted to tanning, in a tanning bed . Sad, I know.

It's No Secret...That I should drink more water & less [diet] soda.

It's No Secret...That I should exercise more.

It's No Secret...That I hate being cold, but always am.

It's No Secret...That I procrastinate like nobody's business.

It's No Secret...That I love doing house work, minus laundry. IDK why, I just hate it.

It's No Secret...I never find anything good when I go thrifting, ever. So I rarely go anymore.

It's No Secret...That I trust too easily. Once you loose that trust, you're SOL, I will never trust you again.

It's No Secret...I am [and always will be] a single mom, even after I am married.

It's No Secret...That I want to be a surrogate.

It's No Secret...I have been thinking about egg donation, still unsure.

It's No Secret...That i've made my fair share of mistakes in life but they've made me who I am today.

It's No Secret...That I am pretty much an open book, about most things.

Until recently I didn't feel the need to hide (or keep anything a secret). For the most part I knew who read my blog.

If you know me IRL you know that I don't feel the need to put on a front. So obvi I dont in here in my small, humble corner of the interwebz? I have even talked about how much I hate how ppl try to come off as 'rockstars' .

I put it all out there b/c I have the best gosh darn reader a gal could ask for! Yall are supportive when I need a shoulder to lean on but yall also give me a good smack too, like any good readers friends would.

When I had anom. commenters I put a stop to them but addressing them publicly in a blog . I also had drama on my Formspring ...I addressed them via Twitter & they stopped.

They have started again. I don't want to have to start censoring my writing. Nor do I feel I should have to answer to bullies who are being cowardly by hiding behind anom. comments.

I am who I am. I am open for the world (ek! Thats kind of a scary thought) to see read about. If you feel the need to be mean, rude or nasty, be so with your name and a link to how I can respond to you via E-Mail or Blog or Don't do so at all and LEAVE MY BLOG.

NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO READ.

I am a 23 yr old single stay-at-home-mom in graduate school full-time. I am about to make my 3rd move since starting this blog. I am also going to start planing a wedding, mine. My life is not all that exciting, I am sure you can live with out my life's happenings and opinions b/c thats ALL this blog is; MY LIFE & OPINIONS.

I LOVE EACH & EVERY PERSON WHO DECIDES TO READ & COMMENT [maturely] DAY IN AND DAY OUT.

...

I have slowly but surely been putting together my lesson for next week, I am so excited about it! Its about pilgrims. I actually can't wait to teach it. I will be using my inlaws tomorrow night as my "testers".

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo
-Kandid Kelli

"Tutus & Plastic Eggs"

In lieu of Convo w/a Todder...

This is the post where all you lovelies get to feel as if you were at Miss E's bday celebration-- I am going to BAMBOOZLE you with a boatload of cuteness & tutus...

...and just when you think you can't take it anymore...

...I am got to hit you with EASTER pics, FULL of PASTELS, BIG PINK BOWS, Plastic eggs, baskets, hunts & Family. & Mainly b/c, well folks that was her REAL birthday.

So sit back and imagine the most perfect sound in the world... the sound of a child LAUGHING b/c that is the only thing that the internet can not provide you in this wonderful journey...

The Reveal (a little blurry b/c she was spinning in a circle like a ballerina)


The annual Mama/Birthday Girl picture (Ignore pregnant nikki in the background b/c she would kill me if she knew this was on here)


The Daddy/Daughter Birthday Picture


Our Family picture... Shes ready to get down and GO PLAY!!!!


Alessandra & Emmy... Instant buds playing


More playing & running... That tutu did NOT hold her back


"I catch it Sanda"


How cute is this?


There was FOOD...


"Look @ Me!"


Yes we are TWINIES


Not into the "Happy Cake"


Yumm Yumm A cookie!


"Puzzle!!!" She loves her some puzzles...Like A Lot!!


Present from mommy & daddy... A trike: "My Bike!"


She got some pants on... Got chilly


E & Nana... (with her new Nemo... from nana & papa)



Had enough CUTENESS yet?!... Well we're not done yet... Moving along...

-EASTER Festivities-

Getting all set up to dye the eggies!!


HUMMM.. What is this? She is interested


This is actually pretty fun. (She LOVED dropping the eggs in the colors & mixing the colors, most of her eggs were a brownish color)


No stay in there "silly eggie"


Her Basket


Easter AM (the bags are from both sets of gparents- his parents & my mom/tom)


She didn't hesitate to DIG RIGHT IN...


EGG HUNT!!! (Loving how adorable she looks! Her bow makes her look so grown-up)


She got the concept & quickly became a PRO!


Found another!!!


Look @ her go...


Showing off her eggs w.Mommy


Our (1st) Easter Family Photo


The girl cousins- E & Jori... Boo was taking a nap.



...

WHOA buddy... Tired? I am. I took 200+ pics in 2 days, It was hard to pick just a few but I hope you enjoyed the ones I chose.

As if that wasn't busy enough, Tuesday she went for her well baby exam... 30% for weight, 95% for height (shes 36.5in- 25lbs...very TALL and skinny) and got 2 shots. SHE wailed. poor thing. Took a 3 hour nap. But all in all the Dr (who is wonderful LOVE him), said she is 100% perfect! Not to worry about her weight (she's always been a peanut) & that once our gallon of Whole milk is gone she can drink what we do, which is 1%. I said okay. :) Great Check-Up. Thats what I LOVE to hear.

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , are we friends?

xo

Kandid Kelli