To My Son on His Second Birthday

Dear Sweet Boy,

Today you are 2! It's official, you are not a baby anymore. You are firmly planted in the midst of toddlerhood and will be making the switch to preschooler before I know it.

I can honestly say I enjoy you more and more the older you get. I love how much you communicate now. Last night before you fell asleep you had to sit up to tell me all about everything you saw at the zoo that day with daddy. When you finally give in to my repeated requests that you do something -- put away blocks, put on shoes, etc. -- you accompany the chore with an exasperated, "OK! OK! OK!" You laugh easily. You've recently gotten really into giving hugs and kisses.

You love animals. You give our dogs and cat hugs and kisses all of the time. You still love to sing and dance. Wheels on the Bus is a favorite, but you also really like Toby Keith's Red Solo Cup. (That last bit is painful to admit, but true. I did not teach you this song -- you can thank YaYa and PawPaw for that.) I know music lessons are just around the corner because you drag out the guitar and climb up onto the piano bench every chance you get. You've just now started to enjoy drawing. We will encourage your artistic endeavors as a hobby, but not a career. (You've got daddy's BFA to thank for that.)

In short monkey man, you are an amazing little creature filled with love and joy and promise. This mommy thing is hard, but you have made my life so much richer and happier than I could've ever imagined. You're awesome.

All of my love,
Mama

I Really Put My Foot Down...

Over the holidays we visited the very cool Vulcan Park and Museum with some great friends from out of town.  For those who don't know, Vulcan is a 56 foot cast iron statue of the Roman god of fire and forge.

Happy Body, Happy Earth, Happy Birthday: How to Throw an Eco-Friendly and Healthy Birthday Party for Your Little Boy or Girl!

This post comes to me from the lovely Melissa of Blog Content Guild. She heard my kiddo's birthday was coming up this month and wanted to share with me some tips on earth-friendly kid's birthday parties. Thanks, Melissa!

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There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing our sweet boy or girl blow out the candle(s) at their birthday parties. But with all the cellophane, birthday cake, and Styrofoam it seems impossible to make our children’s special day fantastic, earth-friendly, and healthy all at the same time! 

Here are some helpful tips for making your toddler’s day natural, healthy, and happy (without spending a fortune!):

* Send email invitations: There are tons of websites out there (Evite and Punchbowl to name a few) that can help you craft beautiful email invitations at the click of a mouse. This option for invitations is not only fast and easy, it minimizes paper waste, too!

* Minimize paper plates: While we’re not exactly ready to eliminate all of the paper out of our lives, we can minimize our amount of waste by using our plates, rather than buying (and throwing away) paper plates. If you must use paper plates for fear of porcelain plate breakage and injuries, just make sure to recycle and/or buy recycled products.

* Make your food at home: Limit your utensil and packaging waste by making your snacks at home! This may seem like a difficult feat, but if you pick easy recipes, it can be a cinch. Try making healthy snacks for parents to chomp on, like a delicious fruit salad with coconut shavings. You can also put out some cold cuts, whole grain crackers, and some cheese (because, really, what’s a party without cheese?). For the kiddos, make a homemade cake. Homemade cakes are healthier and less expensive, too!

* Do it yourself: Pick a theme, and then do it yourself! You’d be shocked at all of the beautiful party ideas online, executed with homemade decorations. Ask your little boy or girl what kind of party they would like, then go from there. If you aren’t so hot with the arts and crafts, you can always buy Super Mario Brothers-themed party supplies (or whatever your son/daughter is into) and then recycle the cardboard cutouts and decorations.

It’s not impossible to have an eco-friendly, healthy birthday party for your little one. Just follow these tips and you can know you’re doing something great for yourself, your environment, and your child.

10 Things Southern Women Do On Facebook

Inspired by the very funny Things White Girls Do On Facebook and Things Black Girls Do On Facebook let's examine 10 Things Southern Women Do On Facebook... And yes, I've done some of these things...

1) Share wedding pictures of themselves in cowboy boots.

2) Pimp their Mary Kay/Tastefully Simple/Thirty-One website.


3) Post pictures of their sweet, precious double-named baby daughter (Anna Grace/Mary Kate/Lilly Beth) in giant flower headbands.


4) Post pictures of Anna Grace/Mary Kate/Lilly Beth's double-named big brother (Jack David/James Henry/John Mark) in a monogrammed, smocked Jon-Jon


5) Tell their dead grandmas happy birthday ("We lost her in 2001. She would've been 98. RIP Nana Brown.")


6) Let the world know what they've got in their slow cooker. ("My house smells sooooo good! Barbecue chicken in the crock pot!")


7) Post pictures of their latest haul from Publix. ("Can you believe I got 18 cans of cream corn for $1? I love coupons!")


8) Link to pictures of bible verses they found on Pinterest.

9) Declare their love for formulaic romantic comedy. ("Have you seen All About Steve? Best movie ever!)


10) Become a football expert around Labor Day weekend. ("Special teams needs to get their heads in the game and our pass defense could use some work! RTR!")

Food fail (Vacation-style)

We have gone on a last minute family adventure to Nashville and are checking out the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and all of the Christmas decorations and festivities (possibly a little Blissdom recon... who knows?)

Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville -- full of Christmas activities in November and December and bloggers in February

This adventure required a little road trip and, like most road trips, this one included junk food. We didn't do much planning ahead and just stopped at a gas station and picked up drinks, cereal bars and chips.  So while kiddo had a pretty healthy breakfast of homemade scrambled eggs, fruit, and cereal, his morning snack was cheese puffs.

When we got to the hotel it was lunch time and we ordered hamburgers from an on-property restaurant. Kiddo and I just split a meal and I think I made a healthy(ish) choice of a turkey burger on wheat with guacamole, lettuce and tomato, but my son only ate the french fries.

And finally, after visiting with friends and doing lots of exploring (it really is an amazing place) we stopped by a little pizza place for dinner and kiddo's final meal of the day consisted of half a piece of cheese pizza. This was not one of my proudest days as a mother.

Now, I could pretend like pizza and french fries count as vegetables (kind of like the U.S. congress), but I don't really want to be the kind of mom who considers ketchup and kale to be nutritionally equal. I'd rather chalk this one up to a bad day and start fresh tomorrow than try to fool myself into thinking that puffed corn, potatoes and pizza are acceptable fare for... well... anyone.

Happy new year from a family that (obviously) has not mastered healthy eating!

It's not the fact that he ate a little junk food that bothers me. I've come to terms with the fact that chicken nuggets are going to be a part of my life -- it's the empty calories and total lack of nutrition that bother me.  I cook dinner at home about 5 nights a week and most of those meals are cooked from scratch, but we are no strangers to packaged rice and frozen pasta meals. Kiddo still nurses daily, so I am a little comforted that he does at least receive a little bit of nutrition even on our worst food days. And I take vitamins and supplements daily, but I have yet to find a multi-vitamin I like for him (he doesn't do gummy -- I'm open to suggestions).

So we'll try again tomorrow. We'll forgo the hashbrowns and cinnamon rolls for veggie omelettes and yogurt (both things he likes). I'll see if I can find a mediterranean place so he can have some hummus and pita for lunch (Another favorite. Ever seen a toddler eat hummus? It's hilarious.) And we'll try again to find some sort of balance in a world that makes it very easy to get wobbly.