Learning to eat is messy business

Confession time. Potty training and solid foods are two of my least favorite developmental milestones. I feel a tremendous amount of anxiety when my kids are learning to use the potty (like the not-going-out-of-the-house kind of anxiety). Also, I can't stand feeding a baby solid foods when they spit most of it out onto their belly. Especially when they are teething simultaneously. That means there will be drool mixed with spit-out food. A combination that I, once again, think belongs to something out of a John Carpenter movie.

Thankfully, I have an 8-year-old. And he thinks that watching a baby eat solid foods is the funniest thing since Spongebob split his pants. Instead of stressing, I just invite Cole to come watch, shuck the baby's clothes, throw him into a plastic containment center (i.e. high chair), and get the camera out. What results is good for immediate AND future laughter.

Here are some pictures of the last two 'sessions'.

Happy start to a feeding session...mom forgot a bib

This expression made me laugh

Again, he is seriously concentrating on eating.

I'm pretty sure he's using the force to get the spoon closer to his mouth.
Doesn't he look like Quado from Total Recall?
This is the face you make after gagging yourself with a spoon.
(Imagine him laughing like Popeye)

Look for my next post - Potty training is messy business. (Just kidding)

I'm in love

Every one of my children is a beautiful enigma to me. I can't express how amazed I am that THESE are my kids. They are all supremely different from one another and yet all COMPLETELY perfect for me. If you've read my blogs from when Cade was born, you'll remember me doing some whining about how slow he was in forming a personality. What's the saying about good things and waiting?

H-O-L-Y C-O-W, I'm in love with this baby. When he's laid back, his dead-pan expression cracks me up. He literally stares at me with no expression until I feel his eyes boring into me. Once I look at him, no expression turns to wiggle-grin. He waits for my attention.

Today, I seriously started worrying about introducing him to solids. I can't get him to eat rice cereal because he won't stop laughing long enough to swallow. He ends up spewing it all over himself and me in fits of laughter. What on earth is so funny about the way I feed him? I haven't the foggiest, but we are both sitting there getting doused and laughing at each other.






And, what is so funny about a diaper change? I can only guess that it's the cool air on his 'man parts.' But, that doesn't explain why he cracks up when I'm changing his clothes. All three of my older ones screamed bloody murder when I changed their tops. Like I was trying to garrote them with their own shirt. Cade finds it incredibly amusing.

I'm in love. I'm blessed. I'm incredibly amazed at God's willingness to entrust me with these treasures.

Princess Bride makes me laugh.
Anchorman makes me snort drinks through my nose.
Funniest Home Videos makes me wonder why I don't have my video camera out more often.

But these kids, they make me smile in the deepest parts of my heart. They make me laugh through my bad days. They inspire me, encourage me, and entertain me. They are my very tangible reminders of grace. Of mercy.

Dr. Seuss' Pot Roast

A little background - I've just learned to cook this year. My family didn't starve before I became Stay-at-Home-Mom-Extraordinaire, but we ate mostly spaghetti, meatloaf, or pizza.

I learned several things about food in the past year. For instance, using rice vinegar instead of cider vinegar in a sauce for meatballs renders a good flavor, but literally singes the nostrils as it cooks.

Sugar-in-the-raw does NOT cook the same as regular sugar.

Thyme is not a great substitute for Rosemary in a recipe called "Rosemary Bread."

Dried cranberries are a MUCH favored replacement for raisins with my family in oatmeal raisin cookies.

Today, I learned a lesson in garlic. In my entire life (a whopping 36 years), I have never witnessed a weirder scientific reaction in a dish I was preparing.

I threw a bunch of ingredients into a slow cooker this morning and took off for church. When I got home, the house smelled so good - I couldn't help but go over and admire the pot roast that was in process.

Imagine my surprise as I approached the slow cooker and saw something teal-colored under the glass top. I opened the lid to discover this:





Is that TEAL garlic? I assure you, the garlic was white when I minced it. First thing to do - call Chad over to marvel at the garlic. Next step was to call my parents to ask them if they knew what the deal was. Final step, Google 'blue garlic'.

Turns out, there's a scientific reason why my garlic looks like something Sam I Am would hesitate to try. I won't bore you with the details, but it turns out that it's perfectly safe to eat teal garlic. Well, as long as it isn't teal when you buy it!

Here's a website that explains why my garlic turned blue. No, it wasn't holding it's breath because my cooking it that bad.
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/bluegarlic.htm