Your First Book

Last night at bedtime we reread the first book we ever read together. Well, that first time was more like an attempted reading, because I started crying while I was reading it. The memory of our first book together has stuck with me, so it seems like an important memory to share with grown-up Linus and Veda.

I started reading to you a couple of days after we came home from the hospital. The first book I picked up was this:

                                                      

 

In case we lose our copy (or someone rips it apart *ahem*), it's a story about a baby bunny who tells his mother that he's going to run away, become a circus performer, become a crocus in a hidden garden, become a sailboat. The mother bunny says that she will become a tightrope walker, a gardener, the wind - whatever it takes to find her baby bunny.

With the two of you finally with me, it seemed like a big, fat metaphor. For three years I worked so desperately to find you. Just like the baby bunny, it seemed you had finally decided to say, “Shucks, I might just as well stay where I am and be your little bunny.”

I'm so glad you decided to be my bunnies.

Toddler Lunch Idea #3

 

What You're Looking At:

• Pizza Rolls
• Cutie Clementine (Veda likes to peel her own; I just get them started for her)
• Double Chocolate, Single Chin Brownie (recipe from the Peas and Thank You book)

"But how do I make pizza rolls?" you may ask. Here's the very easy, very quick, very convenient recipe.

PIZZA ROLLS

Ingredients:

• 1 package refrigerated pizza dough (a la Pillsbury, though we spring for store brand)
• Your favorite jarred pasta sauce (we like Newman's Own)
• Daiya non-dairy cheese (or real cheese for you omnivores)
• A handful of diced veggies - we used broccoli and carrots, but whatever you have on hand is fine
What To Do:
1. Either roll out the dough or stretch it with your hands like a pizza parlor person. I pretended to be a pizza parlor person. Spread it out on a large cutting board. Preheat your oven to 400.

2. Use a pizza cutter to divide the dough 3x5 - so 15 pieces in all.

3. Spread a small amount of pasta sauce of each piece of dough. Be careful not to use too much. Otherwise it's going to ooze out when you roll the dough up.

4. Top each piece with the Daiya (or real cheese). Again, not too much.

6. Make sure your veggies are diced pretty finely. The smaller the better.

7. Top each piece with veggies.

8. Roll each piece and place on a baking sheet that you've either sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Remember to leave a little room for the dough to rise. Place the rolls in the oven you preheated to 400 degrees.

9. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the rolls start to get golden brown.

Voila!

Leftovers are perfect for freezing. Just be sure to reheat them in the oven. Microwaving could lead to icky texture issues.

Toddler Lunch Idea #2



See that blur on the right? That's a little hand trying to sneak a chip.

What you're looking at:

• Strawberry and Peanut Butter Sandwich (like a PBJ, but with diced strawberries in place of the J)
• Sweet Potato Chips (Linus and Veda prefer the Seneca brand. They're in the produce section with the apple chips.)

Look under the Baby & Toddler Food tab for other toddler lunch ideas.

Toddler Lunch Idea #1

I love food, and I love cooking, but you know... I've got kids, and they're not exactly patient. As much as I might enjoy spending a couple of hours in the kitchen to make a cutesy recipe and daydream while I do a sinkful of dishes, Linus and Veda "disagree" with that use of my time. (Okay, I don't really enjoy doing dishes. In fact, I may hate it a whole lot.) Meals around here have to be convenient and fast. But they also have to be nutritious. With that in mind, I'm starting a new series to share some of my lunch ideas that fit those criteria. Look for the growing list under the Baby & Toddler Food tab.

Here's Idea #1

What you're looking at:

• Graham cracker with peanut butter
• Snapea crisps (shelf-stable veggies!)
• Banana slices
• Hummus and vegetable wrap

For the wrap I spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons of hummus on a portion of whole wheat tortilla (1/4 - 1/2 depending on how big your tortilla is) and topped it with some veggies we had on hand. This week our refrigerator proffered yellow squash, mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes (which are really a fruit - I know, I know).

Do your kids love hummus as much as mine do? Seriously, every time I give it to them to use as a dip, they request a spoon.

Snapshots of Cute Stuff 2/7/12

I don't drink coffee. Neither does my husband. All the same, Linus has latched onto the idea that he neeeeeeeeds coffee. This kid is the biggest coffee devotee who's never had a sip of the stuff.

Pull out a mug from the cabinet for tea... "Cofffeeeeeee!"

What would you like for lunch, Linus?... "Cofffeeeeeee!"

Commercial for Keurig comes on... "Cofffeeeeeee!"

Walk by a stranger holding a Starbucks cup... "Cofffeeeeeee!"

Yeah, yeah, oatmeal sounds great, Mom. But you know what I really want?

In fine motor skills news, look what Veda can do.

Dear Internet Crazies, yes I see the sharp knives next to her. I'm standing right in front of her, obviously supervising her. XOXO

That's right, folks. This girl can peel her own boiled egg. In fact, she insists on it. Insists. On. It.