Lunchtime Rut

A few weeks ago, I ran into a real lunch rut.

It was after church one day, when Todd was complaining about how often I go to the grocery store for ham. "Are ham & cheese sandwiches the ONLY thing a little boy can eat for lunch every day?!!" he whines.

I said, "Yes, for now," and jumped on my blackberry while he was inside getting the goods. I started searching the interwebz for toddler-friendly lunch ideas.

That, my friends, is when I discovered the awe and wonder of wheat wraps.

 

Source: goodlifeeats.com via Molly on Pinterest

As much as I wish my son's lunch looked like that, it doesn't.  I tried to take a photo of his lunches, and sadly, it was kinda ugly.  Real ugly, actually.  As you can imagine, in the hands of a 16-month-old, a "wrap" doesn't stay "wrapped" really long.  But I know blog readers, and you'll all have a heart attack if you don't have a picture to break up long, written word.

Some of Saul's favorites include:

Wheat Wrap (cut in half)

Leftover Black Beans & Rice 

Turkey

Avacado

Wheat Wrap (cut in half)

Garlic Hummus

Blackforest Ham

Shredded Motzerella Cheese 

(I know I'm kinda mixing my cultures on that one, but he really likes it, so whatev)

Wheat Wrap (Cut in half)

A small amount of Cheddar Jack 

Boiled Chicken seasoned with Smoked Paprika 

Toasted until cheese melts for a Baby Quesadilla 

Wheat Wrap (Cut in half) 

1 egg - scrambled

1-2 leaves Fresh Basil 

A few hunks of cream cheese 

(In our house, this is called "Special Eggs" - for Saul, a baby breakfast burrito!)

And his all-time favorite 

Wheat Wrap (cut in half)

1/2 Creamy Peanut Butter

1/2 Nutella

1/2 Banana 

(Cut in half and wrapped length-ways in wrap) 

Since we aren't crazy about jumping on the pb&j train until we HAVE to, the last one is served as a snack if he's good ... aka If I need an excuse to eat Nutella. 

I hope this helps out some other toddler mommas that get stuck in the lunch rut.  It's a baaad place to be, y'all! Freshen it up for the little ones!

Pin-spiration Re-creation Interpretation

Whoa.  Did that blow your mind?!

Well, if you know what Pinterest is, I'm sure you're addicted.

I know I am ... only kinda.  But anyway, there's a million and one ideas that I would love for my own home, style, child, tummy, etc.

Well, I read on one of my fave blog - Amy over at A Good Life Blog - that she was putting some of that pin-spiration to work!  I decided to do the same and started very small.

I pinned this little idea from Brooke at Pure & Noble. 

 

Source: pureandnoble.blogspot.com via Molly on Pinterest

Too cute, right?  How earthy!  She used a tree branch for a curtain rod!

This morning, I had five minutes (!!!) to do something creative - and fast! I've been whining and complaining about putting up a curtain in our bedroom.  It's so open, you literally have to scrunch in the corner of the room if you want to change without all the neighbors seeing your goods.

So, I went to the backyard, got a stick, and VOILA!

 

Privacy AND style AND frugality! 

To show you how cheap I am, those curtains are made from a table cloth and some super-duper long piece of white fabric I found for .75 cents at the thrift store. 

Seriously, that "window treatment" cost me about ... $1.75. 

You just can't beat that with a stick. HA! 

Pun TOTALLY intended.

Fact: it is Friday

I'm linking up with one of my new favorite bloggers.  Becky of Baby Making.  She is probably one of the funniest people ever. 

I'm supposed to write about myself.  But I'm not sure I want to do that.  It's my blog; I do what I want.

Fact:  I think I found my niche in not having one.  I like having craft/hobby ADD. 

Yesterday, I spent the day sewing, and you know what, it was fun! I didn't give up.  I didn't get bored.  I didn't get frustrated.  I didn't follow a pattern, and I made it up as I went along.  I'm happy with the outcome.  I made 2 tote bags for the farmer's market.

 

I then moved on to photographing my child and dog, as any good mother does. 

 

To be such a girly-girl all my life, I sure am surrounded by a lot of boys.

I also used to think that my son looked exactly like me when I was a baby.  I went through old photos today that needed to be sorted.  I've come to the conclusion that he looks nothing like I did.  Nothing.  Not even a little bit. 

I think next week I'll try to write more about myself and actually give you factual information about myself like Becky does, but I'm too scatterbrained this morning. 

Keep Love Alive: 1

I think if you talk to any old, wrinkly couple, they'll tell you that laughter is one of the keys to having a successful relationship for all their years.

Well, Todd, nor I, are very funny people.  I mean, I think he's hilarious, and I keep him laughing pretty good, but most people wouldn't really classify us as "the funny couple."

However, we laugh together a lot.  Over really, really stupid stuff.

Which brings me to my point.  For Saul's birthday, we decided to get him some bath toys.  Every kid needs bath toys, right?  And it's like a right of passage for a kid to have those foam alphabet letters that stick to the tile when they're wet, right?  Of course it is.

Saul is more interested in sticking them on his chest and squealing with glee about that.

Todd and I LOVE THEM.  We have so many games that we play with these little letters. 

One game is to try to toss them at the wall and see if they stick.

Another game is to stack as many as you can on top of each other and see if they float.

Our FAVORITE game is what I'm about to share with you.  When either of us takes a shower, we try to leave words or phrases for the other on the wall.  That may seem easy, but it's not.

I only take out a handful of letters and change them out weekly for Saul.  I mean, what is he going to do with the entire alphabet? 

We absolutely die laughing every time we go into the bathroom.  The phrases are so stupid and make NO sense, but for some reason, it turns over our "giggle boxes" a-la-second-grade.

Here's some of the messages we've shared this week.

It's the little things, people.  Little things can make or break your relationship.  I'm telling you!  I hope that today, you do something silly with the person you love and laugh until your stomach aches. 

Love, M

Finding My Niche

I've written and rewritten this entry in my head a million times.

How weird is this - I don't know what I love to do. 

These days, everyone is an artist.  Everyone is a blogger.  Everyone loves thrift stores, antique malls, and flea markets.  Everyone's home is decorated interestingly. 

Well, you know what?  I don't know where I fall.

Now that Saul is at the age where he is in constant need of correction and needs to really comprehend that just because he sees Mommy doesn't mean he has to be on my hip incredibly self-reliant, I have been trying to figure out what it is that I like to do when he's napping, the house is clean, and dinner is waiting to be cooked.  

I have no idea.  Usually read blogs and think about writing a post. 

I like painting ... but I'm really only good at copying something someone else has painted already.

I went through a jewelry-making phase ... but then feather earrings went out of style, so I became uninterested.

As weird as it sounds, I really, really love paper mache ... but since when has that ever been a useful craft? I mean OTHER than  the 4th grade science fair when you make the volcano replica with baking soda, vinegar, and red food coloring? 

I crochet ... and I can make a mean beanie or scarf ... but that's about it. 

I have absolutely no interest or know-how to do any sort of graphic design.

I draw and doodle a lot ... but I always draw the same stuff.

Photography is really, really, really neat, but I don't have a DSLR camera or any fancy editing software.

I sew occassionally ... but it's really hard and usually get discouraged halfway through the project and just forget to finish it ... 

Basically, I'm stuck.  I'm trying to find something that I really LOVE to do.  It makes me feel lazy.  I'm not particularly good at anything. 

It's frustrating.

But you know, I'm really good at being pregnant and having a baby.  I know, I know.  Seven feminists in California somewhere just spontaneously combusted.  But seriously.  I loved that.

However, I don't think Todd will go for being the next Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.  In fact, I'll be lucky to get one more. 

Oh well.  I guess I'll just keep trying new things.  Crafting is a must (seems) for stay-at-home-mommas.  I think maybe I should detach from other blogs for a while to try to cultivate some deep-seated creativity, rather than compare and downgrade my own ideas to other women out there who, seemingly, have rainbows of creativity pouring out their ears, nose, and rear.

All in due time, I suppose.