I've gone bananas!

Really bananas! I have decided to try the Morning Banana Diet. My mother, who is Japanese, told me about it yesterday and after googling it today, I discovered that this diet is apparently pretty popular in Japan. It sounds like a diet that I can do without decreasing my milk supply, and doesn't require any major exercising. Not that I am against exercising, but finding any time for it is nearly impossible. I lead a very active life and take lots of walks with the kids so I do get quite a bit of exercise on a daily basis. I also "wear" Sparks in his carrier almost everywhere so I typically tote an extra 19 pounds whenever I am walking. Seems like a workout, right? Anyhow, losing that extra 10 pounds or so of baby weight is kind of tough when nursing. Your body doesn't want to let go of it's fat reserves, so I've been stuck at about 130 pounds. I really want to drop a few pounds (10 would be good, 15 would be great!) before this summer because the thought of wearing a one-piece swimsuit really does not appeal to me. I have NEVER worn anything but a bikini and I don't want to start now. Let's see what this diet does!

The shirt says it all

My girl loves ponies. She doesn't run or skip like most girls, she canters. She "rides" her ponies through the house and "ties" them up whenever she goes to the bathroom. She has many pretend ponies and a few real live ponies that she adores. One of her real pony friends is Belle. She lives up the road from us. We visit her often to feed her apples, groom her, and sometimes even ride her. Dickens (Lemon Drop) is another one of her favorites. He was the first pony she ever rode and one of my favorites as well. The first pony that she ever rode in a horse show was Gunny (Top Gun). And this Sunday, Cakes will be in her second horse show riding a very special pony named Daz (Fort Knox). This pony is so fancy that he even has a Breyer Horse modeled after him! What a lucky little girl to have so many pony friends!

From the Mouth of Cakes

"Look momma! I'm giving Zeeds (Edie) my momma milk!"Do you think I've done my part to make breastfeeding her "normal" way to feed a baby?! I can only hope!

My Guys

From the Mouth of Cakes - Additions and Omissions

The addition of words can make a big difference in meaning.

The Hubs and Cakes were racing cousin Tori and Hubs says to Cakes, "We're going to smoke her." Cakes turned it into, "Let's smoke her up!"

Word omission is equally bad.

Cakes got a root beer sucker after gymnastics yesterday. She was done with it after a few licks and says to Hubs, "Here dad, I'm done with my beer."

Oh, the power of words!

Mama's Boy

Me and my boy enjoying a snuggle

Interview with Cakes

Here's just a glimpse of my life with sweet Cakes. She really is quite the character! It's almost 6 minutes long, even with some editing, but I think it's worth watching. She'll make you laugh! Check it out!

Mama-made Baby Food

When it was time to begin Cakes on solids I decided that I wanted to make her food. The commercial baby food seemed extremely bland to the point of tasteless, and there wasn't much in terms of variety of vegetables and fruits available. I wanted her to have fresh, flavorful food in a wide variety so that when she began to eat "real" food it wasn't much different in taste, just texture. I also didn't want to have one of those kids that will only eat chicken fingers and mac-n-cheese! I guess my thinking was that the more flavors I could get into her early on, the better my chances of having a child that would eat a diverse diet. My strategy seemed to work because my now 3-year old daughter will eat pretty much anything. And hopefully, my son will too!

When most people find out that I make my children's baby food, they are curious about it. They ask me how I do it, and if it is hard. It is actually quite simple. I'm surprised more people don't make their own baby food. It's fresher, has a lot more flavor, and I'll dare to say, it is nutritionally superior. And it is economical!

So, here's a brief how-to on making and storing baby food. In this example I am making a fresh pear puree.

All you need - fresh ripe pears, food processor, ice cube trays, plastic wrap, and freezer bags

Wash, peel, pare, and cut up the pears

Puree pears until smooth

Spoon puree into ice trays

Cover trays with plastic wrap and freeze

Once frozen, place cubes of pear into a labeled and dated freezer bag and store in the freezer

Each cube is approximately 1 ounce or 1 serving

And that's it! Easy peasy!

Purees can be made with any age appropriate food. So far, for Sparky, I have made sweet potato, acorn squash, butternut squash, peas, green beans, sweet potato/banana, mango, and pear. The vegetables were first steamed or boiled and then pureed with some leftover liquid to thin it. I also fork smash bananas or avocado on an as needed basis as these do not freeze well.

Preparing for mealtime is simple, just heat in microwave and serve. I typically pull 2 cubes and heat for 1 minute. Depending on what it is, it may need more or less, so be sure to stir and check temperature before giving that first bite!