Toddler Food

Just fair warning here: This is going to be a boring post. I just needed to get some stuff written down:)

Naomi is a good eater. Really, she eats nearly everything we give her.
On a side note, we are going to Los Cabos in May and leaving Naomi in the loving care of Grandparents, 1/2 at my parents and 1/2 at Zach's. I'm not too worried but Zach is, he's a little overprotective!
So, I've been thinking about the things I wanted to write down for them, i.e. nap and bedtime routines, nap schedule, when she usually eats and WHAT she eats.
So that landed me here. I'm going to make a list of what little Nomi-Nomi likes to eat! I'll add/subtract if needed as I get closer to takeoff.

*all things in baby size bites* (she's a chipmunk if I let her)

Grains:
cinnamon toast
spaghettio's
ravioli
ALL pasta
(with tomato, cheese, or cream sauces)
rice
rice-a-roni
tortillas (dipped in a sour cream and salsa mixture) or plain
grilled cheese sandwiches
mini nilla wafers
cheese crackers
all cereals (rice chex, cheerios, product 19 and cinnamon toast crunch are current favs)
ritz crackers
graham crackers
pancakes (sometimes)
waffles (sometimes)
french toast

Fruit:
Peaches
grapes
oranges (mandarin or fresh)
apples (TINY bits/shredded)
applesauce
blueberries (LOVES)
mangoes
bananas
plums
pears
strawberries
raisins

Vegetables:
avocados
tomatoes
squash & summer squash
beans
peas
carrots (sometimes)
orange/red/yellow bell peppers
olives
mashed potatoes
red potatoes
pickles (is that a veggie?!)
MILD banana peppers
corn

Dairy:
Milk
Cheese
sour cream
cottage cheese
yogurt

Protein:
sandwich meats
chicken
turkey
beef
ham
scrambled eggs
bacon
pork
refried beans
(I'm going to try tofu again, she hated it:)

Other:
Water:)
M&M's
Juice
lollipops
cookies

But just a little note: (I'm ultra strict with this one:)

NO NUTS!!!!!!!!!!! I check cereal boxes and snacks- it's always posted bold if it's an ingredient. No pieces of cereal or snack that has nuts in it at all, it's the oil that can cause such a reaction. I also make sure we wash off spoons/plates/knifes really well that had peanut butter on them- since we hand wash all our dishes :(
I still haven't gotten a referral from Naomi's ped. to see an allergist but we are playing it safe since her major allergic reaction over Christmas, and she seems to get mild bouts of hives still- can't exactly trace what from though.

snakes and snails and puppy dog tails....

THAT'S what little BOYS are made of!

I traded some babysitting with my friend today, we both had dentist appts. Funny coincidence. She brought her two cute little rowdy boys; Trey and Tenny, here to play this morning at about 10 a.m.

Naomi was in heaven! She loves other "little people." I got into the swing of things and thought, "hey 3 kids, this isn't so crazy."

But then it was lunch time.

Let's just say we made it through with everyone relatively well fed.... some was eaten from the floor, but it was FRESH! Two one-year-olds are a handful, lot and lots of thrown peas!

I was exhausted by the time it was my turn to leave and it was only 1 p.m.

Today I was glad Naomi was born without a twin. I've always wanted twins but I regularly get wake up calls like today that slap some sense into me! Really though, the kids were pretty good and had a great time playing. The boy factor just upped the intensity level a bit:)

Trey was my Awesome Ant Smasher.

He would hunt those guys down and grab them, roll and toss in the trash.

AWESOME.

He even informed me that "you can't kill it with a broom, here, let me get it."

And he did.

Cinnamon Stix and Cards

So here I am, killing time. Naomi's asleep for the night (long ago) and Zach's typing away on some brief for school. It's due Friday so he's been s.t.r.e.s.s.i.n.g! jk, just a bit though.
We just took a snack break together, me from my mindless onlining and he from his paper, to devour a super yummy Cinnamon-stick thing. I got it at Aldi's (cool discount grocery store, must post about it later) for just a few bucks, it's pre-baked, you add the included cinn/sugar mix and then icing after you warm in over for about 4 min. IT WAS AWESOME:) ok, that's sad. But really, it was better than anything I could have baked from scratch! Not that I do that anymore, too lazy:) I like say it's because I'm too busy but really I'm lazy about it. I shifted to other time-consuming interests.
Speaking of other interests. I have a renewed surge for card making. I was just not feeling it for a while there, my cards were lacking some umph:) And there wasn't a decent scrapbook store within 100 miles of this city. But I discovered a little joint called Hobby Lobby and came home with under $20 of really great stuff, most on sale. Needless to say, I was feeling like a hero! I got some seriously cute paper and ribbon.
Trisha's super-cards, coming to a mailbox near you!

SUSHI!

I did it, I made California Rolls! And they are good:)
I first made them with the nori on the outside, they're easier to make that way.
The second time I made them "inside-out" like a bona fide Sushi chef made California roll.
They didn't turn out quite as well that 2nd round.
I made them too fat, I'm going to attempt again tomorrow.
I did a little more research online and found a helpful video about how to make a California roll on about.com. I just need a bamboo mat so I can make them even better!
I'm going to make them for the family when we are home this summer, I'm excited.
Here's a funny thing- I bought a little ginger root because we wanted to have ginger with the rolls too. Well Zach peeled one side of it and then sliced of a little and then popped a chunk in his mouth. Never mind that it was yellow, not orange-pink like at restaurants. Anyway, he made a funny gaging sound and spit it out in the sink.
Silly me, I opened my mouth when he said, "here, try this, just a little tiny piece."
WOW! It was sooooo spicy! Like nothing I've had before or want to have again. It was hot and tangy and sharp. Sort of like a radish but much stronger.
Well, it turns out that the ginger we were looking for is pickled ginger. Like with vinegar, etc. Zach googled it and found that you can pickle it at home or buy pickled. So we're going to get us a jar:)
The wasabi paste I got was smoother and softer than what Zach had eaten before but tasted just fine- HOT I'm sure.
These are pictures of my culinary masterpiece!

California Rolls

I have been toying with the idea that I can make my own sushi at home. California rolls are what I crave. I can buy them, take out, at a local Japanese restaurant but I want the satisfaction of making them myself.
I did some preliminary research online today and discovered there are many variations in recipes. I debated about buying a sushi recipe book but then opted out, I can find it all online, it's just a little less convenient than the hard copy. Anyway. I bookmarked 4 different pages with recipes I liked. Some had good pictures, others had good ingredients and others had helpful instructions. I'm hoping to perfect the roll to my specific taste. I'm so excited!!!
I made a list of things I need to make Sushi that I don't already have:

Nori (dried seaweed) one sheet per roll.
Imitation crab (must remember to squeeze out excess water:)
Sesame seeds (roasted ones were recommended on one site, another said get b&w for flair)
Bamboo sushi mat, rolling mat or Makisi. (googled this, about $3.00)
Sushi vinegar (or I can get the ingredients and make this, but hopefully I can find it made)
Flying Fish Roe. This took some research, turns out it's caviar, that's right- FISH EGGS:) I will probably opt out on this one, it's expensive.
Wasabi
Ginger (need to find out if the kind in the restaurant is marinated or something?)
Chop Sticks

Other things I need are: cucumber, avocado, short grain rice.

OK

There is a little International Grocery store close to where we live and I'm hoping they have all the exotic items I need, particularly the nori. The little lady who runs the store is sooo sweet!
I just got a bottle of Tahini (sesame butter) so we could make humus. Zach's in heaven. It's a little garlicky this first try but I'm sure he'll have it fine-tuned in no time. Now we just need some really good bread to eat it with, all of ours is too soft.

So here's a few sites with pictures of what my finished product is going to look like.
Tokyo Food Page nice pictures on this page
About.com great tips
Foodnetwork makes it sound easy...
Sushi Links picky recipes

Wish me luck!

I'm FAMOUS!

I thought this day would never come but here I am, FAMOUS!!!

Well, maybe "well-renowned"

Or, how about "notable"

or just "heard-of"

Actually, I'm PUBLISHED!That's right, In the March 2007 issue of American Baby I am quoted in the "Mom to Mom" section.

The topic is "How did you wean your child off her pacifier?"I submitted an entry 5 months ago and here it is, PUBLISHED! woohoo!

Funny thing is, when I started to read it, I read: "When my daughter, Naomi, was 6 months old..." I though "WHAT??? someone else named their daughter Naomi and they are in this magazine? cool!" and then it hit me, it WAS me! Silly Trisha.

So be sure to check out the latest edition and read my ditty about going cold turkey with the binky:)

Daylight Savings

This picture is Naomi at the park, with two of her favorite souviners, the prickly ball thingys:)

Today is the first day of daylight savings and it's three weeks earlier than usual. That's fine with me, I like the sun sticking around later in the day. It's just been a little strange with Naomi's schedule. She went to bed at her normal time last night and slept 11 1/2 hours, but that put us an hour late this morning. She's been a little behind all day. I put her to bed at the new 8 p.m. and she's still not asleep. She's having a rough time of it tonight. Part of that might be because Zach isn't here, he went to a Stake Preisthood meeting in Cape Girardeau and he's still not back. Not sure why.
Sounds like Naomi might be just about there now, lets hope for her. I went in a few minutes ago and she promptly fell asleep in my arms only to wake back up as I laid her down :(

I may need to go in again, we'll see. I've been rocking and singing to her at bedtime after Zach reads her books. She's been silly and not getting sleepy just yet. We'll work into this new routine. We recently dropped our last nursing session, bedtime. So wil the molars halfway in, time changes, daddy not here and no nursing, she's having a little bit of a tough night.

What a hottie huh!

GREAT NEW PICTURES!

These are a few of my favorite new pictures of Naomi. The one at the park she is showing me a handful of bark! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the one at the top, where she's wearing the pink pants. Her smile is hard to catch on camera.