November will be a busy month.

Posted on November 1, 2007 by Gwen

This November I am going to try to be a part of a few things the first of which is a blogging thing called National Blog Post Month. This means I will be posting everyday in November. When I say everyday, I mean everyday, including Saturday and Sunday. Sigh, I just hope this makes me a better writer. I will still be posting the Menu plan on Monday and Fridays will most likely be various blog blasts from the Parent Bloggers Network.

I am also going to try to be part of the Organizing Junkie’s 30 Day Organizational challenge. I am determined to organize the living room (and maybe the dining room as well) and maybe try to use the entertainment unit and shelves better for toy, book and game storage. I would also like to make a better place for Aidan to draw and craft.

Aidan and I have a few days planned each week now as well. We have a Parent and Tot Art Class on Tuesdays (thank you Community Centres for not being on strike anymore) and we go swimming and to the library on Fridays. I am thinking about going back to the baby gym on Wednesdays and maybe to the adult gym on Thursday mornings. (My gym has child care in the mornings.)

My evenings aren’t free either. I have guides on Tuesdays and Choir on Thursdays. Hmm, and I also need to figure out what people are going to be made for Christmas this year as well. Do people need water glasses to go with their wine glasses?

Posted in blogging, Gwen, National Blog Post Month, organization, Parent Bloggers Network | 4 Comments

Menu Plan Monday: I am back :)

Posted on October 28, 2007 by Gwen

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I am having a bit of a hard time blogging with the boy around lately since he seems to take offence at me typing anything on the laptop. We had a bit of a traumatic week last week and I never want that much adrenalin in my system again. I am hoping that Aidan will never take that kind of face-plant again, the screams were terrible. Luckily his nose doesn’t seem to be broken, and the bruising was less than I thought it would be. I have also been dealing with Hives for some unknown reason. They keep coming and I am in a bit of a fog with the antihistamines. I think that sometime soon, if they don’t stop, I will need to try a bit of an elimination diet.

Ok so I wrote that last week, I have been trying for three weeks to get a Menu plan out so I am writing parts of this starting the Thursday before. 🙂 I did actually plan for last week and I planned for two weeks so I could get the big grocery shop put of the way.

Friday (26th): Amazing or Awesome Meat loaf (pg 114 of Fix it and forget it) in the slowcooker. This is a meatloaf that both Anthony and I liked. Now if only we could get the boy to eat some meat.

Saturday (27th): Open

Sunday (28th): Steak, Potatoes, Salad

Monday (29th): Tandoori Chicken, Roasted Peppers, Basmati rice

Tuesday (30th): Quick Frozen Meal (Guides)

Wednesday (31st): Pasta and Meat Sauce, Salad Happy Halloween (We will see how Aidan does with the trick or treating.)

Thursday (1 Nov.): Healthy baked Breaded Chicken

Friday (2nd): Fish and Chips

Saturday (3rd): Meatballs with Rice

Join more menu planners or check out some great plans at Organizing Junkie.

Posted in Gwen, Healthy Choices, Healthy Eating, Menu Plan Monday, organization | Comments Off on Menu Plan Monday: I am back :)

Picky Eater? Aidan? . . . Well Maybe

Posted on October 26, 2007 by Gwen

I have heard a whole lot from the blogashpere about Jessica Seinfeld’s new cookbook Deceptively Delicious. It seems that she routinely purees vegetable matter and stuffs it into just about everything she can think of. I think that if Aidan were only really picky about eating vegetables I would get th book and try it out. But the problem is that the thing Aidan hates more than anything is meat. I can only get him to eat pepperoni and Salami, and that only sometimes. He has always eaten vegetables like cucumber, and baby corn, but balks at trying new meat or even new textures of other foods.

It is funny to think about how easy it was to feed Aidan in the beginning, he would try anything and even if it came back out he was willing to try again. There were a few exceptions that he still hates and they include any of the meat family and especially potatoes. Aidan hates, hates, hates potatoes. (Though the first time Aidan tried green beans and first made the “blah, blah” gagging sounds is legendary.) So the thought of trying to hide cauliflower in his mashed potatoes doesn’t make any sense at all. As for the chick peas in the chocolate chip cookies doesn’t really work either, for as much as he likes the idea of cookies, the actual cookies not so much.

I have found the real way to hide almost any kind of food including meat is with pasta. If you have pasta and sauce Aidan will scarf it down like there is no tomorrow. Maybe I need to get a pasta machine and try to make some more exotic sauces. 🙂 Wish me luck.

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This post is part of the Parent Bloggers Network blog blast “Just Eat It” and I have a chance to win a 250 dollar gift card to Williams Sonoma. Wohoo! Can anyone say new blender or maybe a pasta maker or a bread maker? The possibilities are endless. 🙂

Posted in Blog Blast, children, Cook Books, Cooking with toddlers, Healthy Eating, Parent Bloggers Network | 1 Comment

Kids and Crusts

Posted on October 25, 2007 by Gwen

Why is it that little kids decide that they don’t like crusts?  Aidan used to eat all of his bread but he is now leaving the perimeter of the bread uneaten.  It is funny he will leave a perimeter even if I cut off the crusts. 🙂  I have no idea where this behaviour came from.  Toddlers are definitely their own people aren’t they?

Posted in Aidan, children, Toddlers | Comments Off on Kids and Crusts