Hoops, Loops and the Healthy Poops

Healthy gut, healthy butt

This a kinda "a day in the life of" post. Our lives are incredibly interesting so strap in.

Let me start off by saying I do my best. I'm not fanatic, I don't do sugar-free, paleo, gluten-free, exclusively organic or anything like that, and I do enjoy me some McDonald's every now and then way too often a lot.

But my kids eat better than I do. (This is a change I'm making happen for myself right now, as opposed to my current model of  "do as I say, not as I do.") I think a lot about what goes into their little tummies because I have to deal with the consequences of what comes out of their little butts. I really want them to grow up with healthy habits and all that, but also the poop thing.

What we eat, because you're dying to know

Here is a meal I packed for a play date. It was shared by Hoops and Loops. We had some blueberries (FYI: Loops will eat blueberries until her arse is stained blue from the blueish blackish poops that result from eating all the blueberries) and some cherry tomatoes. Hoops is way into tomatoes, but Loops needs them cut up a bit, it's hard out there with six teeth, so I packed a knife. In the other other Tupperware is some mega delicious sauerkraut from Number 1 Sons that we get from the farmer's market. We're partial to the Stinkin' Rye variety. It's mildly hilarious to watch both babes shove some fermented 'kraut in their mouths. I especially love this stuff because it is fermented and full of probiotics. You can also catch a glimpse of a cheese stick, because cheese, and some chocolate milk that Hoops got. Little Loops is on water or whole milk like a prisoner.

We marinate the chicken and cook a whole bunch at a time, then cut it all up and save it for dinners and lunches throughout the week. I mean, it's a lot of chicken. Now that Loops eats real foods, and I'm trying to eat what the kids eat, it's a lot of chicken. I've noticed all of our food gets consumed faster now that Loops  eats and I'm joining in. I'm not sure why I am so shocked by the fact that three people, one of us arguably an adult, eats more than one toddler did before, but it's shocking at the grocery store nonetheless.

That's a bowl of quinoa with spinach, a plate of peas and some chicken.

Loops and a cracker.

Luckily, my children love going to the grocery store. Let's see how long that lasts. I try to buy things that take practically no time to prepare because there's just no way to do it otherwise. Cooking while with a one year old and a two and a half year old is not something I want to try alone. So here are some of our other staples:

Fruits
-5 bonus points for any that need cutting, because that's annoying
Strawberries, blueberries, grapes, clementines (+7 bonus points for being easier to peel than oranges), bananas, apples, peaches, plums, mangoes (+10 bonus points for getting the pre-sliced ones from the store)

Veggies
+25 bonus points for any vegetable that is actually eaten, -17 bonus points for preparation
Frozen peas, aforementioned sauerkraut, spinach, cauliflower, green beans (oh, and we sometimes get dilly beans from Number 1 Sons too!), pickles and onions that I love putting into anything

Mmmm, chicken and sauerkraut.

For breakfast, I usually make some toast with peanut butter and honey, some cheese, cashews (well, not for toothless Loops) and some fruit. I also am a fan of the overnight oats, and make a big batch of Greek yogurt mixed with applesauce, honey and sometimes berries or bananas. That stuff tastes amazeballs but looks a bit like barf, so eat it with your eyes closed. Lunch is usually the precooked chicken, maybe some apple chips with hummus for dipping, a veggie and/or fruit. Hoops has gotten really into sandwiches, but hates when they fall apart so I glue them together with hummus, which is weird. Dinner is more of the same but with variation on the fruit or veggie. And because it's all prepared beforehand (let's talk about cooking chicken and veggies after bedtime...) I just grab from the fridge and place on the plates! I've found using plates like these really help me organize meals-- something colorful in each spot!

I told you that the oatmeal and yogurt concoction looks like barf. 

Snack, snacks, snacks!

I'm not gonna lie, sometimes the kids eat a lot of Gerber puffs for snacks. But when they're not eating that, they enjoy cashews, crackers with peanut butter, rice cakes, cheese and pretzels or more fruit. Once, Hoops even asked for spinach for his snack because the kid is weird.

Snacking outside on some crackers with peanut butter and some puffs. I swear they're mildly enjoying it.

 

So there ya have it

A day in the life of our eating. And I've got it down to such a science I can tell you within 28 minutes of when one of the children is going to have a nice ole healthy poop.

Got any ideas of what else to feed the hungry horde?

Hoops and the Happy Hug

Happy Hugs by Hoops

Some days, Hoops can be a little bit off.

And by a little bit off, I mean totally 100% off his rocker. He will contradict himself; "I want a sandwich, I DON'T WANT A SANDWICH!" He will offer his sister a toy, then scream in hysterics when she accepts it. He will roll around listlessly on the floor; "I just can't get up." I'm with ya on that one, kid.

Now, at 2.5 years old, I'm told this is to be expected. We've been working on "using our words" to express our feelings. As an adult, I am so super good at this. If there was a font for sarcasm, I'd be using it. BUT so far we have gotten the hang of:

"I mad at you, Mommy!"
"I upset with you, Mommy!"
"You make me sad, Mommy!"
And my personal favorite: "I don't like you right now, Mommy!"

Are you sensing a theme, here?

Luckily for me, his verbal skills are astounding. Like really, really good. Not so luckily, he still has the social skills of a 2.5year old. He's more than likely to be heard telling complete strangers at the grocery store that he has a "cute little tiny hiney" or loudly informing me that he "doesn't want that guy over there to pinch him." Because that's not awkward.

Entire days can be spent with this face wailing at me, snot drippage and all. Sure, it looks pretty adorable, and I bet you're feeling some pangs of empathy. (Or sympathy...or empathy, or whichever.) But trust me, it ain't cute.

...Okay, you're right, it's a little bit cute. He can't really help that. It's not something he's doing on purpose.

Now, because I'm practically a genius, I know that the snot-dripping face is really the result of this face:

"Would you like to take a nap?" I ask, with only a hint of desperation in my voice. I'm practically nodding my head off my neck with subtle encouragement.

You can guess where this usually gets me. The worst part is, I know what his reaction will be, yet each time I am tempted to ask this question hoping for a difference response.

The biggest of the meltdowns come about two hours before nap. Two hours before nap. That is 120 minutes of emotional highs and lows to contend with. Poor little Loops usually gets the brunt of it; she is just fascinated by his crying, and insists on touching his tears like some sort of little voodoo healer. Hoops insists on knocking her healing hands off his face.

And so begins the Happy Hug 

One day, when in the throes of toddler tantrums, I calmly asked "Hoops, would you like a Happy Hug?" I don't even know where this came from. His little body was out of sync with his little soul and he just needed to hug it out. He popped up from wailing on the ground, then plopped down in my lap and gave me the best hug. Of all the hugs.

"I happy again."

And just like that, the Happy Hug was born. Any time a tantrum blows through the playroom, or looms over the living room, or rains down on us on the playground, I open my arms to provide a Happy Hug. It's like I'm pressing a toddler reset button. It is my go-to defense move, and it has the highest success rate of any of the moves in my tantrum avoidance toolkit.

Sometimes they last mere moments before he's off again, and other times the feelings need a longer hug. And I'm okay with that. I know one day it will be me wanting a Happy Hug from him, and I won't always be able to get it.

Because he'll be too embarrassed by me in the grocery store talking to strangers about his cute little tiny hiney.

Loops and "I Love Lucy"

Little Loops just celebrated her first birthday, so I chose an "I Love Lucy" theme. For this I chose red, black and white as the colors, and included polka dots wherever I could. Naturally, the show "I Love Lucy" was in black and white, but I felt the polka dots, red, black and white really brought about the feeling of a 1940's housewife.

"But wait, who are you?"

Before we delve into what I did for the party, I'd like to say that there a probably thousands, dare I say millions, of mommy blogs out there. All kinds of mommies with stories to tell, advice (....and opinions) to share and all that good stuff. So you might ask yourself: why am I reading this one?

To that I say:
I have no idea, but thanks for stopping by!

First let me start off by saying, I'm not that great of a mom. I mean, my kids are happy, healthy, adorable and well-fed but.... they probably watch way more television then I would like to admit (can we get a "Yo Gabba Gabba" up in here?) and also each probably consume two cheese sticks a day. I'm far from crafty, I'm not organized, and most importantly, I am tired. I am tired. I've mastered the clothing choices and (lack of) basic hygiene that introduce me as a tired person. I've put hand soap on my toothbrush, worn clothes two days in a row and washed my hair with baby powder more times than I'd like to admit. I'm. Just. That. Tired.

"Yeah, and who isn't?"
Touche. But I'm not here for advice, or craft ideas, or style ideas or anything really. Mostly I'm here for commiseration. But if by chance some words of wisdom do pop out, promptly ignore them.

I have a little boy, Hoops, and a little girl, Loops. Pay close attention and you might even catch their real names. I used to be a kindergarten teacher until little maternity leave, childcare costs (I'm not climbing onto my soapbox quite yet; maybe we'll save that for another post) and stress prompted me to become a stay-at-home mom.

So, back to Loops and her first birthday. 

We got people to attend this shindig by sending them this wonderful invite, custom designed by Little Laws Prints:

I put a little note on the bottom indicating for no gifts. Really, enough is enough at this point. I think I'll even post about that one day: the devolution of play through an overwhelming amount of toys. (But serious thanks and gratitude to those who do think of our kids and want to get them gifts! We feel the love!)

So, like I said, we chose polka dots, red, black and white. I also think the colors and the polka dots would work great for a Mickey Mouse party or a ladybug party too.

Here is some of the decor I used:

Can't you just see how crafty I am? I mean, that is pure talent right there. Anyway, I bought red streamers and found black streamers with white polka dots. It was nice and breezy so this little guy signaled to our guest to come on in. Or something. It was a lot of taping.
But again, I think this would work great for several themes.

Here's a little sign my father made on the front door. I really debated whether it should be just "Celebrating" or "S'elebrating" to be reminiscent of Ricky Ricardo's famous line. In the end I went with the S and apostrophe. I'm still unsure of this. The heart was supposed to be red, and the "To Do" didn't print on it... Crafty. My dad and I are very crafty.

More tape and streamers for the stairs! As you come in, these streamers are just an indicator of party time.

During the party, we had episodes of "I Love Lucy" playing on the TV. We kept the volume low, but it was a fun touch. I don't think anyone noticed.

I went even farther with my taping skills. I used the black streamers with the polka dots and taped it around red cups to place the black utensils in. I also used red paper plates and added some black plastic cups just for extra interest. I even found red napkins with white polka dots on them. Thanks Party City!

I also found some red balloons, black balloons with white dots and a foil red heart balloon. The balloons were even held down by a heavy pair of hearts. I placed these on the counter along with some pictures of Loops and her brother. I covered the granite with a red table cloth. It was mega slippery, so I used some tape donuts and taped it to the counter. If you haven't noticed, I'm a pro at taping.

I decked out the highchair with more tape and streamers and a second bundle of balloons. We took it outside for the singing of birthday songs and smashing of cake.

My terribly talented sister made this cake for our little Loops. Her talents obviously extend past tape and streamers.

More importantly, what did we wear?

Here's a picture of me and Loops. She is wearing that cute little dress from this shop on Etsy, and our matching headbands are from this shop. She was almost painfully adorable. I had a dress that somewhat matched her dress, but that morning was feeling a wee bit unhappy with my current body dimensions (again, fodder for another post) so I went with this striped shirt and a black pencil skirt. I believe the other outfit would have been better with the theme, but this still felt 1940's housewife to me.

I even attempted makeup and hair.

 

Here's Hoops wearing a bowling shirt that was supposed to conjure up images of Ricky Ricardo and Little Ricky. He lasted in his clothes all of one hour of the party before wandering around in undies or a swim diaper. Toddlerhood. Eventually Loops joined the pants-off-party.

So there you have it! Loops and her "I Love Lucy" party!

 

What do you think? Have you ever had a similar theme or could use any of these ideas?