I know that this sounds really weird but trust me my little boy loves them. My sister in law invented this recipe when she was looking for something for her daughter to eat for lunch. She called it a peperoni burrito but its not really a burrito and when I told my son it was a burrito he told me, "No it isn't a burrito mom!" You see, we are from New Mexico and my 3 year old son is already versed in all things Mexican food. My sister in law is a Texan and to her calling it a burrito was fine but not to my 3 year old New Mexican son. Side note, this is not by any means a mexican dish but oh well, he eats it and eats every bite of it so who cares. Any parent of a 3 year old pick eater can understand that theory.
Take a fajita sized tortilla and sprinkle a little bit of mozerella cheese on half of it. Next, layer pepperoni on the cheese and follow it up with a little bit more cheese. Now fold the tortilla in half to make a quesadilla. Microwave for 15 seconds and then flip it over and microwave for 15 seconds more. Serve with pizza sauce to dip with, if your child has a dipping fixation like most kids.
***I put cheese on both sides of the pepperoni so that the tortilla has something to hold it together when it is folded into half. If you only put cheese down once the tortilla won't stay shut. To keep it from getting too cheesy just put a little cheese down at a time.
I'm telling you, my son loves this meal. Serve it with kid friendly fruit (mandarin oranges) and a vegetable and it makes a really good meal. Plus for mommy, its freaking easy and takes like a whole 2 minutes to make.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
"The Mommy Wars" Round 3: Co-sleeping or not?
As I have been writing on "The Mommy Wars," I kept having a thought come to me. Why are we as mothers so mean to each other? We aren't usually blatently mean to each other but we are definatly each others hardest critics. If we see a mom giving her baby a bottle, breastfeeding mothers probably have an opinion about it, whether they voice it or not. If we know our friend is letting their baby sleep with them and we make our baby sleep in their own room, then we have an opinion on it. I really think that we just want to do the best for our kids and when we make a decision we think its the best so when we see somebody doing something else, they are automatically doing it wrong. We never take into account that maybe, just maybe, that mother made the decision that is best for her child.
Another topic of heated debate in the mommy world is co-sleeping. There are lots of theories out there that co-sleeping is beneficial for the baby and mother. Some of the theories suggest that there is a closer bond between mother and child. It is also a lot easier for those wonderful 2 AM feeding for breastfeeding moms. She wouldn't have to hop out of bed when the baby is hungry, she can just whip it out (come on girls, you know what I'm talking about).
There are also studies showing that the rish of SIDS is greatly reduced when babies do not share beds with their parents. Its also hard, and even dangerous to share a bed when a parent is an especially deep sleeper or obese.
As far as me, I can't bed share with my kids. I cannot sleep when they are sleeping in bed with me. I am to paranoid. I am afraid if I put them in the middle my hubby will roll over and smoosh them and if I put them on the side I am afraid they are going to roll off the bed. I had my son sleep in our bed a few nights after he was really sick and it was the hardest thing ever to get him back in the basinet next to our bed. Everytime I would snore or roll over or whatever he would wake up and think he needed to be next to me. When we tried to move him to his room it was aweful, aweful, aweful. I felt like such a horrible mother by making him sleep a whole 30 feet away from me. Getting him to sleep in his room took like 2 monthes.
When we had our daughter we made a goal to not let her sleep in our bed. We got one of those armreach co-sleepers and I LOVE IT. We hooked the little bed on my side of the bed and she was right nxe to me all night but not really in my bed. I was able to roll over and put my hand on her chest (I am way paranoid) and check on her like 6 times a night without having to get up. When she got older and would wake up when I would make noise, get up to go to the bathroom or even roll over, we decided to move her to her room. She was sleeping through the night without having to eat at this time so it really wasn't a big deal. She seriously was so much easier to get to sleep in her own room than her brother was. It was wonderful. She didn't cry for me and reach for me like her brother did and in turn I had less mommy guilt.
What do you do when it comes to sleeping arrangements with your children? How do you feel on the topic of co-sleeping? Post some comments and lets get this discusion going.
Another topic of heated debate in the mommy world is co-sleeping. There are lots of theories out there that co-sleeping is beneficial for the baby and mother. Some of the theories suggest that there is a closer bond between mother and child. It is also a lot easier for those wonderful 2 AM feeding for breastfeeding moms. She wouldn't have to hop out of bed when the baby is hungry, she can just whip it out (come on girls, you know what I'm talking about).
There are also studies showing that the rish of SIDS is greatly reduced when babies do not share beds with their parents. Its also hard, and even dangerous to share a bed when a parent is an especially deep sleeper or obese.
As far as me, I can't bed share with my kids. I cannot sleep when they are sleeping in bed with me. I am to paranoid. I am afraid if I put them in the middle my hubby will roll over and smoosh them and if I put them on the side I am afraid they are going to roll off the bed. I had my son sleep in our bed a few nights after he was really sick and it was the hardest thing ever to get him back in the basinet next to our bed. Everytime I would snore or roll over or whatever he would wake up and think he needed to be next to me. When we tried to move him to his room it was aweful, aweful, aweful. I felt like such a horrible mother by making him sleep a whole 30 feet away from me. Getting him to sleep in his room took like 2 monthes.
When we had our daughter we made a goal to not let her sleep in our bed. We got one of those armreach co-sleepers and I LOVE IT. We hooked the little bed on my side of the bed and she was right nxe to me all night but not really in my bed. I was able to roll over and put my hand on her chest (I am way paranoid) and check on her like 6 times a night without having to get up. When she got older and would wake up when I would make noise, get up to go to the bathroom or even roll over, we decided to move her to her room. She was sleeping through the night without having to eat at this time so it really wasn't a big deal. She seriously was so much easier to get to sleep in her own room than her brother was. It was wonderful. She didn't cry for me and reach for me like her brother did and in turn I had less mommy guilt.
What do you do when it comes to sleeping arrangements with your children? How do you feel on the topic of co-sleeping? Post some comments and lets get this discusion going.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Bad Mommy Sighting
I went out of town for the 4th of July weekend and we decided to find some food for dinner. The town we were in was full of people to see their annual firework display. My husband decided he would run in and get the food while I stayed in the car with the kids. I was just sitting there passing the time playing a game on my cell phone when I looked up and saw a group of late teens early twenties hanging out on the sidewalk in front of my car. For some reason I stared at them for a while and I noticed one of the girls was smoking. No big deal I thought until she turned sideways and I noticed that she was VERY pregnant!! I couldn't believe it. I wanted to jump out of the car and chew her out but lets just saw that she was associating with not they type of people I would want to make angry. I tried to snap a picture of her with my phone but I could never get a good shot of her smoking with her very noticeable pregnant baby. I was so upset about it, I felt so bad for the baby. I know that there are certain things that are debatable as far as parenting goes, but smoking while you are pregnant is not debatable. There are facts, proven facts that smoking while pregnant is detrimental to babies. It should be illegal I really don't know what to say. What are your thoughts
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What The "Freak" Where They Thinking????
I try to find an article or blog post each week that would be valuable information for my readers. I read it and then write about it. Well, as I was searching on Digg for something that would be pertinent I came across the blog post entitled, "10 Great Books For (Traumatizing) Kids," on the blog"cracked." I thought the article sounded funny so I decided to read it and check it out. I tell you, I could not keep my mouth shut while I was reading. I repeatedly found my jaw practically on the floor.
The author of this post found 10 books that have the ability to screw your kids up. The sad thing is that these are real books, I kid you not. Every single one of these books have been published and printed for the masses. It just goes to show you anybody can write a kids book. Heck, maybe if this whole blogging thing doesn't work out for me I should throw some crap into a book and put some bright colorful pictures in it and call it a kids book. Who knows maybe I'll strike it rich. Anyway, I thought I would bring you the list of books he talked about and a little synapse of what they are about. Ready?? All right, remember these are real books, I am not joking.
1. Hiroshima No Pika
This book is written for Kindergartners and it is about, you're right the bombing of Hiroshima. The book is an account of a mother trying to escape the bombs blast radius while leading her to children and carrying her wounded husband on her back. And yes, that is her topless running through a symbolic sea of blood on the cover.
2. Who Cares About Disabled People
Yup, that's the title all right. The goal of the book is intended to answer that question with the answer, everybody cares about disabled people. Unfortunately the authors idea of disabled people are fat kids, alcoholics, druggies, and really tall athletes. I agree with the author of the post by saying as soon as a druggie or alcoholic gets a handicapped spot at the grocery store while I am hauling my two kids from all the way in the back because there is no where else to park, I'm gonna be ticked!
3. I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink So Much
Can you say, "dysfunctional?" The author of this book also wrote books titled, My Big Sister Takes Drugs, Nobody Wants A Nuclear War, When Eric's Mom Fought Cancer, and My Two Uncles. I think the author wanted to make screwed up situations better?????? Not sure. But really who's gonna get a book like that for a kid who's dad drinks a lot, I think I'd rather get the kids some therapy.
4. Outside Over There
This book is bazaar. The movie "The Labrynth" was based on this book, loosely and I must say loosely. Thankfully, loosely. The book suggest that if you don't like your younger sibling you can just ask the goblins to come and eat her/him and they gladly will do just that.
5. The House That Crack Built
Wanna teach your little one all about crack and where it comes from? Well read them this book. It paints a pictures of the entire process of crack, start to finish. The intent was to scare them from drugs early so they will avoid them all together but seriously, they are LITTLE KIDS for crying out loud. I'm still working on sharing and not peeing in his pants, I don't think I need to teach my preschooler about crack just yet.
6. Sometimes Mommy Gets Angry
Yup, that's exactly what the book is about. The book is meant to teach the children about mental illness. Well the little kid calls grandma and she talks him through it over the phone. Well what the crap grandma, why didn't you go get your grandkid and save him from his psycho mom??? That's what I want to know.
7. The Poodle-Pug-Daschund-Pinscher
First I thought to myself, well that's gonna screw the kids up and confuse them on any knowledge they had about the birds and the bees. Upon further investigation I found that the book was actually Nazi propaganda intended for little preschoolers-2nd grade-ish. The propaganda spewed was all about how awful Jews were. For example, "Just like the bacterium, the Jews bring plague and decline to the peoples they infect by race mixing and infecting Gentile peoples with Jewish thinking. They maintain, for example, that all humans are equal. But that is not true. It is a terrible lie!" Yes, I realize that this was printed during WWII but it is still accessible to today's children.
8. Latawnya, The Naughty Horse, Learns To Say "No" To Drugs
Funny title and to book at first glance just seems a stupidly hilarious but did you notice the name in the title? Yup, Latawnya. In the book not only are the horses smoking cigarettes but trying to hold alcoholic drinks with their hooves they are all black horses names, Latawnya, Daisy and Latoya. Theses horses are, top it off, confronted by the evil drug pushing white horses. So if that's not just weird enough for ya, they throw in an overdosing horse at the end.
9. Cautionary Tales For Children
Yes this book was written over 100 years ago, but keep in mind that it was rereleased in 2002. I just can't believe it. What a way to inflict fear in your kids. I thought it was somewhat humorous and unfortunate. Notice the black hand trying to get the white kid on the cover. That is just wrong, such a subliminal way of teaching kids to be racist.
10. Alfie's Home
This book is written about a little boy who was molested by his uncle and whos parents don't believe him when they talk to him. Not disturbing enough for you, well the book also implies that those who molest are gay and all that are molested are gay. The word "faggot" is written in the illustrations also. Not only that, to resolve the issue of molestation they just send the kid and the uncle go to couseling, the uncle apologizes, the kid realizes he isn't gay and everything is just magically OK. I just can't believe it.
The author of this post found 10 books that have the ability to screw your kids up. The sad thing is that these are real books, I kid you not. Every single one of these books have been published and printed for the masses. It just goes to show you anybody can write a kids book. Heck, maybe if this whole blogging thing doesn't work out for me I should throw some crap into a book and put some bright colorful pictures in it and call it a kids book. Who knows maybe I'll strike it rich. Anyway, I thought I would bring you the list of books he talked about and a little synapse of what they are about. Ready?? All right, remember these are real books, I am not joking.
1. Hiroshima No Pika
This book is written for Kindergartners and it is about, you're right the bombing of Hiroshima. The book is an account of a mother trying to escape the bombs blast radius while leading her to children and carrying her wounded husband on her back. And yes, that is her topless running through a symbolic sea of blood on the cover.
2. Who Cares About Disabled People
Yup, that's the title all right. The goal of the book is intended to answer that question with the answer, everybody cares about disabled people. Unfortunately the authors idea of disabled people are fat kids, alcoholics, druggies, and really tall athletes. I agree with the author of the post by saying as soon as a druggie or alcoholic gets a handicapped spot at the grocery store while I am hauling my two kids from all the way in the back because there is no where else to park, I'm gonna be ticked!
3. I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink So Much
Can you say, "dysfunctional?" The author of this book also wrote books titled, My Big Sister Takes Drugs, Nobody Wants A Nuclear War, When Eric's Mom Fought Cancer, and My Two Uncles. I think the author wanted to make screwed up situations better?????? Not sure. But really who's gonna get a book like that for a kid who's dad drinks a lot, I think I'd rather get the kids some therapy.
4. Outside Over There
This book is bazaar. The movie "The Labrynth" was based on this book, loosely and I must say loosely. Thankfully, loosely. The book suggest that if you don't like your younger sibling you can just ask the goblins to come and eat her/him and they gladly will do just that.
5. The House That Crack Built
Wanna teach your little one all about crack and where it comes from? Well read them this book. It paints a pictures of the entire process of crack, start to finish. The intent was to scare them from drugs early so they will avoid them all together but seriously, they are LITTLE KIDS for crying out loud. I'm still working on sharing and not peeing in his pants, I don't think I need to teach my preschooler about crack just yet.
6. Sometimes Mommy Gets Angry
Yup, that's exactly what the book is about. The book is meant to teach the children about mental illness. Well the little kid calls grandma and she talks him through it over the phone. Well what the crap grandma, why didn't you go get your grandkid and save him from his psycho mom??? That's what I want to know.
7. The Poodle-Pug-Daschund-Pinscher
First I thought to myself, well that's gonna screw the kids up and confuse them on any knowledge they had about the birds and the bees. Upon further investigation I found that the book was actually Nazi propaganda intended for little preschoolers-2nd grade-ish. The propaganda spewed was all about how awful Jews were. For example, "Just like the bacterium, the Jews bring plague and decline to the peoples they infect by race mixing and infecting Gentile peoples with Jewish thinking. They maintain, for example, that all humans are equal. But that is not true. It is a terrible lie!" Yes, I realize that this was printed during WWII but it is still accessible to today's children.
8. Latawnya, The Naughty Horse, Learns To Say "No" To Drugs
Funny title and to book at first glance just seems a stupidly hilarious but did you notice the name in the title? Yup, Latawnya. In the book not only are the horses smoking cigarettes but trying to hold alcoholic drinks with their hooves they are all black horses names, Latawnya, Daisy and Latoya. Theses horses are, top it off, confronted by the evil drug pushing white horses. So if that's not just weird enough for ya, they throw in an overdosing horse at the end.
9. Cautionary Tales For Children
Yes this book was written over 100 years ago, but keep in mind that it was rereleased in 2002. I just can't believe it. What a way to inflict fear in your kids. I thought it was somewhat humorous and unfortunate. Notice the black hand trying to get the white kid on the cover. That is just wrong, such a subliminal way of teaching kids to be racist.
10. Alfie's Home
This book is written about a little boy who was molested by his uncle and whos parents don't believe him when they talk to him. Not disturbing enough for you, well the book also implies that those who molest are gay and all that are molested are gay. The word "faggot" is written in the illustrations also. Not only that, to resolve the issue of molestation they just send the kid and the uncle go to couseling, the uncle apologizes, the kid realizes he isn't gay and everything is just magically OK. I just can't believe it.
I really want to give the benefit of the doubt to the authors of these books but really I'm not sure what they were thinking. I have enough to worry about raising my little kids to try and teach them the woes of the world. For crying out loud can they not just be kids for a while instead of delving into all this crud at such a young age. Really its beyond me, it just goes to show that you can't trust everything they say is a kids book.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
"What To Do Wednesday" Colored Sand
Most kids love play with sidewalk chalk but what do you do with the leftover pieces that are too small to write with or that crumble off? Make colored sand!
- Gather the sidewalk chalk crumbles and grind into a fine powder.
- Get some sand from your kids' sand box and mix the sidewalk chalk powder into the sand to tint it.
Thats all there is too it. Easy as can be! After you make your colored sand you can play with it just like you would regular sand box sand. Put it into molds and make colored sand castes, fish, sea shells etc. Let your imagination run wild. The kids will love this, its fun and new plus you aren't wasting those leftover pieces of sidewalk chalk!
Have fun with this. Let me know what you do with your leftover sidewalk chalk. Check back next Wednesday for more ideas on what to do with your kids.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Thrifty Tuesday
Every Tuesday I will share 5 money saving tips and tricks. The theme again this week is saving money on groceries and food. Please feel free to comment and as always, thanks for stopping by.
Make you're own breadcrumbs
What do you do with the crusts or heels of a loaf of bread? Do you throw it away or give it to the birds? Simply run them through the food processor and freeze until ready to use. You will never have to buy breadcrumbs again. If you prefer the seasoned variety, add some basil, oregano and garlic powder while processing. They freeze well in a plastic container or freezer bag.
You can also harden them by placing in the micro for a few minutes. Then crumble and freeze dry, or cube first to make stuffing.
Buy fresh produce at the farmers market
Use the farmer's market approach by purchasing produce that's fresh, inexpensive and in season. Avoiding the middlemen will save you money and provide your family the freshest of foods. It's also wise to not purchase non-grocery items such as medicines, contact lens solution etc. You will probably pay more for these items at the grocery store.
Look for Discounts
Buying items marked down can save you as much as 20 percent on your total grocery bill. In addition, find out when your store marks down items that expire like bread and meat. You can save money on these items by freezing them or serving them that night for dinner. Also, look for a small section in the store where they discount items that weren't as popular as the manufacturer's had hoped. This can provide you many bargains.
Know where to buy cheaper brands
Be aware that the highest markup items on the shelves are at chest level. To find the cheaper house or generic brands you will need to reach up or kneel down. Also, the main aisles of the grocery store are filled with high priced items, so avoid these pricey areas, such as the paths to the milk and bread.
Make you're own T.V. dinners
Next time youre running late dont spend a fortune on takeout. Have a home cooked meal. Spend a couple of dollars on some nice individual serving freezer containers. (The ones with the separate compartments are great). The next time you have leftovers use these containers to store and freeze your meals. Then, when you do have one of those days you can simply pop one of your tv dinners into the microwave and your family can enjoy a homecooked feast in minutes. Youll save time and money in the long run
Make you're own breadcrumbs
What do you do with the crusts or heels of a loaf of bread? Do you throw it away or give it to the birds? Simply run them through the food processor and freeze until ready to use. You will never have to buy breadcrumbs again. If you prefer the seasoned variety, add some basil, oregano and garlic powder while processing. They freeze well in a plastic container or freezer bag.
You can also harden them by placing in the micro for a few minutes. Then crumble and freeze dry, or cube first to make stuffing.
Buy fresh produce at the farmers market
Use the farmer's market approach by purchasing produce that's fresh, inexpensive and in season. Avoiding the middlemen will save you money and provide your family the freshest of foods. It's also wise to not purchase non-grocery items such as medicines, contact lens solution etc. You will probably pay more for these items at the grocery store.
Look for Discounts
Buying items marked down can save you as much as 20 percent on your total grocery bill. In addition, find out when your store marks down items that expire like bread and meat. You can save money on these items by freezing them or serving them that night for dinner. Also, look for a small section in the store where they discount items that weren't as popular as the manufacturer's had hoped. This can provide you many bargains.
Know where to buy cheaper brands
Be aware that the highest markup items on the shelves are at chest level. To find the cheaper house or generic brands you will need to reach up or kneel down. Also, the main aisles of the grocery store are filled with high priced items, so avoid these pricey areas, such as the paths to the milk and bread.
Make you're own T.V. dinners
Next time youre running late dont spend a fortune on takeout. Have a home cooked meal. Spend a couple of dollars on some nice individual serving freezer containers. (The ones with the separate compartments are great). The next time you have leftovers use these containers to store and freeze your meals. Then, when you do have one of those days you can simply pop one of your tv dinners into the microwave and your family can enjoy a homecooked feast in minutes. Youll save time and money in the long run
Monday, July 6, 2009
Cafe Mom Website: My new find
I just wanted to tell you girls about a website that I found and really think is interesting its called Cafemom
I checked out the website and signed up. It was free and I really liked it. There are all sorts of forums to write and discuss things that are relevent to us mothers. You can meet other mothers that are dealing with the same things that you are dealing with. If you have breastfeeding concerns you can find somebody there to talk, if you need to complain about something, there is somebody there to talk to, if you have a difficult child there is somebody there you can get advice from. I really liked it, wait I think I said that already. The best part it is free. Click on the ad below and it will take you over to cafemom.com and check it out.
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