A toddler game of catch

Fintan has a hard time catching balls from the air when playing catch. They usually slip through his fingers and bounce off his feet. But Pat discovered a great way to play catch with Fintan this weekend. We received a package in the mail that contained some little air-filled bags for padding. They were connected together in a strand of 3 or 4 and Pat left a couple of them attached to each other, jumbled them up and threw those to Fintan. They actually went fairly straight, from close range, and floated just enough that Fintan could catch them pretty easily out of the air. He was so proud of himself, too!

Easy teriyaki-sesame chicken

This is an extremely easy meal to make your toddler for lunch or dinner. At one point I shared another easy chicken recipe on my other blog that detailed how I prepare and store chicken in toddler-serving sized packets.  

To make this meal, I pull out one of those packets of frozen chicken and zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds so I can easily remove the chicken from the plastic wrap (it does not have to be completely thawed however).  Then I drop the pieces into a frying pan, add around half a tablespoon of soy sauce, half a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, a tablespoon and a half or so of water and a dollop of honey (I'd say a generous teaspoon-full, but I wouldn't use the spoon to measure or half of your honey will be left stuck to it).

Turn the burner to medium-low and let the sauce simmer and cook down, turning the chicken every 30 seconds or so (it cooks fairly quickly, only taking around 5 minutes total). When it begins to thicken slightly and boil around the edges, add a sprinkling of sesame seeds and swirl the chicken pieces around to pick them up as the sauce becomes sticky.  (Sesame seeds can be found with the other spices in your grocery store and they are surprisingly good

for you so toss them in wherever you can.  They're a great source of protein, potassium, calcium, iron, and niacin and also contain riboflavin and thiamine.) When you've got a good coating of sauce and sesame seeds on the chicken, it's ready to serve.  You don't want the sauce to thicken to the point of drying up and burning.  Just cut the biggest piece to make sure there's no pink remaining and if there is  you can add a little more water and let it simmer a bit longer.

Once you see how easy this is to make, it may become a staple at your house, just like it is at ours.  Because whether or not your toddler will eat it you may just grow to love it on your lunchtime salad. Or over rice.  I do.  But Fintan usually asks for my serving once he's finished with his.  Guess it's time to rethink those portion sizes...

Tissue ornaments

This morning Zayden and Ivy came over to play and Fintan and Zayden made tissue ornaments (with a little help from their mommies). I got the idea after reading this book. One of the author's suggestions was to give your toddler a full box of tissues and the freedom to pull them out and scatter them around the room. The idea seemed right up Fintan's alley (I don't know how many times he's emptied the baby wipes containers before I started just leaving wipes in the refill-bags because they're not as fun to empty!) and I don't mind the mess, but I just didn't want to waste a whole bunch of tissues by picking them up and throwing them away after he grew tired of them. So I didn't think we'd ever do it.

Then I thought of what happens to a tissue when you leave it in your pocket and it goes through the wash (oh, you don't do that? Okay...well, a reciept then. You're too organized with your receipts to let that happen? Well, you'll just have to take my word for it then) and comes out all compacted into a little hard ball. I thought we'd recreate that process and use the tissues to make Christmas tree ornaments.

So, the idea was:

We'd have a blast playing with the tissues for a while. Pulling them out and making "snow" and indoor snow angels. Later we would gather them all up in a basket and fill two bowls with water and food coloring (one red, one green) Then we'd soak the tissues in the water, tear them into smaller chunks and press the colorful red and green bits into star-shaped cookie cutters,and around a dry noodle in one side to leave a hole so that we could tie a ribbon through it for hanging it on the Christmas tree.

The reality:

The boys did some good pulling out and scattering of tissues and had some fun throwing them into the air.


But soon they distracted each other from the fun activity and abandoned the tissue boxes several times to start pounding on each other (as toddlers will often do when you really want them to enjoy an activity you've put some planning into). But in between "time-out" musical chairs they had a good time playing and throwing Kleenex at each other. When it came time to make the ornaments Zayden must have been hungry because he took a bite of the uncooked pasta noodle (he didn't like it much and spit the pieces out fairly quickly, lol) and tasted the colored water that dripped from his fingertips, but we forged on and pressed that wet kleenex into the cookie cutters, switching colors at one point so that we could make lovely mingled red and green ornaments...except for the fact that red and green food coloring mixes together to make a hideous gray, which isn't exactly festive. So Fintan and I got the food coloring out and dripped red and green on our ornament. He really liked that part.

And here is the result:

They will take some time to dry but I'll post later with an update on how they turned out.

Notes for next time:

I'd probably divide this into two separate activities. Let the toddlers (or perhaps it would be more successful with one bored toddler) empty the tissues at leisure and play with the results for a while. Throw them in the air. Make snow angels. Let them sweep them around the floor with a broom maybe. Then before they get bored, gather them all up together and put them into a basket for later. Then, when making the ornaments I'd stick to one food color choice per ornament and drip dots of the same color on top for contrast to avoid icky gray results. Oh, and make sure your toddler isn't hungry. ;)

I also imagine doing this with other types of cookie cutters to make temporary toys (we have dino cookie cutters for example), so it can be an anytime activity not just one reserved for the holidays.

Stay tuned for an idea of what to do with the empty tissue box... ;)

Bring Joy

I was in a car accident last Friday. It was at night, it was raining and it was my fault. Both boys were with me at the time and the collision happened on Coen's side of the car. The boys didn't even know it happened, the contact was so minimal, but I was horror stricken by what might have happened. I've relived it in my mind numerous times since, with a devastating twist at the end.

Of course, I told myself, and anyone who would listen, that I'd be driving like a timid old lady from then on. But then...I didn't. I mean, I've been careful, and several times even reminded myself to sit up straighter and pay attention, but I've found myself more than once sliding into that driving trance that is so easy to fall into. Does anyone else do that? Where I'm driving roads that I'm familiar with. I'm not hyper alert, I'm not on the edge of my seat. I'm not gripping the steering wheel with both hands...in short, I'm not where I said I'd be.

This is a definite character flaw with me. I forget things way too easily. Here's a (silly, but true) example: I'll be carrying my keys towards the house and repeating to myself "I'm going to hang these keys up right when I walk inside. I'm not going to lose them again." Then somehow while taking that last step from the stairs to the house I lose the thought and next thing I know I find my keys in the back of the refrigerator and I'm fifteen minutes late for something important.

I WANT to do better. I want to remember all of the things I want to remember (hug Fintan instead of losing your temper; sing to Coen don't sit in silence) without them rattling around and getting lost in the hubbub of my brain. So I've decided to try to replace all of the noise in my head, the checklist of how to be a better person and a better mommy, with one phrase: "Bring Joy". Only two words so even I shouldn't forget. Bring joy to my kids. Bring joy to my husband. Bring joy to my friends and to strangers. That encompasses the most important of my to-do list anyway---even the car rides because it will certainly bring me and my husband joy to keep our kids safe! Bring Joy.

And let go of the superstitions. Acting happy will not bring misfortune upon me and my family. Being happy won't call down Fate's wrath (plug your ears, Fate). Life is so fragile and it's so important to live it joyfully. I'm going to start now.

As for my keys? Well, I'll just have to hire a personal assistant.

Easiest Mexican(ish) dinner: Fajitas and rice

This is one of my favorite meals because it's really easy and versatile, it tastes great, and the finished product looks and tastes like it took way more work than it did.

Ingredients:

1 beef roast (or any large cut of beef that's on sale) or 1 pork roast (though any type of pork will do), or skinless chicken pieces of any variety. There is no specific amount required, just whatever amount suits you and your family for dinner and perhaps leftovers (they taste great the next day, too). I personally use a cut of meat that I bought on sale ages ago and have had it sitting in the deep freezer FOREVER because I couldn't think what to do with it. (Doesn't everyone have those?)

2 15.5 oz jars of salsa (I use generic, or whatever is on sale, for this meal. I stock up when it's really cheap so I have them on hand Salsa generally doesn't have any weird things like high fructose corn syrup so you can buy it cheap and still get healthy ingredients. I also use mild because I'm a spice-weenie, but use what suits your taste.)

2 cups Long grain rice (I buy large 5 lb. bags of Mahatma Jasmine rice and use it for everything. The nice thing about this rice is that in addition to being yummy, it has microwave directions on the package--though it isn't instant or quick rice--so you don't have to get a non-dishwasher-safe pot dirty if you don't want to.)

side items: tortillas (corn or flour), a tomato, sour cream, shredded cheese, your favorite brand of salsa for topping, a can of beans (black or pinto are good)---and whatever else you like on fajitas. I sometimes do a stir-fry of peppers and onions and perhaps even squash of some sort, but it isn't at all necessary.

To make:

Like I said, I always seem to start with a rock solid piece of frozen meat. So it just has to be small enough to fit in a crock pot--I HATE having to thaw stuff. So place the meat in the crock pot and dump one jar of salsa over top of it. Turn it on. If you want it done in around 6 hours turn it on high. If you'd like to leave it all day, turn it on low. Put the lid on. Walk away.

A half hour before dinner time, dump two cups of Mahatma Jasmine rice, three cups of water, and the second jar of salsa into a large microwave safe dish with a lid. (If you don't have Mahatma Jasmine Rice follow the proportions on the package, some rice requires more water). Microwave on full power for five minutes, then microwave on 50% power for 20 minutes. If you have a favorite brand of rice and a favorite cooking method, follow that and just dump in the salsa with the water. I haven't found that you need to adjust cooking time at all.)

While the rice is cooking, check your meat and shred it with two forks if there are still large chunks. (If you used a cut of meat with a bone or bones now would be a good time to fish them out.) Open and rinse your can of beans, cut your tomato, grate your cheese, open your yummy salsa and your sour cream and then tap your foot while you wait for the rice to be done. (or play with your grumpy toddler who HATES waiting for a meal and is already chewing on a stick of cheese or the like). When the rice is ready let stand covered for 5 minutes then warm the tortillas in the microwave for a few seconds and serve.

Okay, so it's not exactly authentic Mexican cuisine, but who has the time?

Oh, and to reheat the rice later, just add a splash of water (maybe a teaspoon) to it before microwaving so it won't dry out.

Bags are fun. Who knew?

If you ever need a quick distraction for your toddler (I just realized that I'm actually talking to "future me" here) pull out two paper grocery bags, open them up (perhaps even put a toy inside of each?) and hand them over. Fintan ran around the room flinging two bags together to make a really loud and interesting noise, held one out in front of him and kicked it, and even put one over his head. Next time I think I'll cut a hole or holes for him to look through and turn it into a costume. Maybe we'll decorate it first with crayons or watercolors. Ooh, that sounds fun.

He also loves to fill grocery bags with toys or empty them of toys if I fill them up. A slightly quieter variation would be to give your toddler a canvas bag (like you can buy at the grocery store for reusable grocery bags, or a book bag) or a basket with a handle and let him or her transfer small toys into and out of it and go "shopping".

Toddler sitter

Now that I feel able to somewhat trust Fintan not to pile drive Coen (either by accident or on purpose) and since he was in a reasonably good mood this afternoon, I asked him to "watch" Coen for a moment while I straightened up a little bit. I turned partially away from them but was still able to see them easily out of the corner of my eye. Fintan laid right down beside Coen so he could watch him more closely and gently patted his head and talked to him, saying "Are you okay? Are you okay, Coen?" and smiled at him the entire time. I didn't leave them there for long because I didn't want Fintan to get bored or become too interested in Coen's eyes or nostrils. But he was interested and engaged for two minutes or so, and seemed very proud to be watching Coen "all by himself". I think doing this occasionally will really help Fintan develop a protective and nurturing instinct towards his little brother and help their bond to grow.

Twenty kisses

Every time Fintan is about to go to sleep, at night or at nap-time, the last thing I do before I lay him in his bed is give him twenty kisses. I kiss him all over his cheeks and forehead, and number 20 is square on the lips. I count each kiss out loud as I go. Sometimes I count fast, other times more slowly, but I do it every time. I've never tried to teach Fintan to count to twenty in any other way, but he does it easily now. Maybe I should start giving him 30 kisses?

Why Momerella?

There are many things that I can do to make my life and my kid's lives happier and healthier. But sometimes it's hard to remember, in the thick of the day, what those things might be. So this blog is where I'm going to keep a list of ideas, recipes, activities, tips and plans, as they occur to me, so that I can come back later and see what worked and what didn't.

Some ideas are going to be simple and obvious, others may be helpful to anyone who might read this blog. Mostly I know they will help me as my younger son, Coen, begins toddling into toddlerhood and enters the stage where Fintan is right now.

So here I go, taking a step closer to the fairytale.