Toddler Lunch Ideas Needed

I've said before that Shaylin is a really good eater.  With the exception of oatmeal & tilapia (not combined), she's eaten everything we offer her.  It's made meal planning & grocery shopping easier because I just feed her whatever we eat & I haven't needed to buy much baby food.

But I'm losing creativity with lunchtime.  I usually offer her a fruit with lunch like a banana or a mixed fruit cup.  But the other part of the meal is where I feel like we're getting in a rut.  She likes deli meat & turkey is usually what we have.  So typical lunches are a couple slices of turkey, a slice of cheese (cheddar or provolone is what we typically buy), & then the fruit.  Sometimes I'll make her a grilled cheese sandwich.  Or a cheese quesadilla.  Oh, & we've done fish sticks, mac 'n cheese, & green beans.  That's really about it. 

So I'm asking for other ideas.  I want to keep a variety for her so she doesn't get tired of a particular food.  Some days she seems like she's heading that way.

Since I post this on Facebook I'll gladly take suggestions either there or on my blog.

Thanks!

13 Months Old

My little peanut keeps growing & growing.  I failed to post a real 12 months post last month but here were her stats at her 1 year checkup:

Weight - 17 lbs. 13 oz. (7th percentile)
Height - 28" (25th percentile)

And that's why I call her my peanut!

Here's what she's doing right now:

- She loves to "read".  Sometimes she'll bring me a book & crawl into my lap (if I'm on the floor, that is).  Or she'll sit or stand with the book & speak some unknown baby language. 

- The words she says that we actually understand are hi, bye, Da (for Daddy), Momma (though this is rare), baby, & night-night.  She's also trying to say things like ball, dog, milk, & belly but they don't always come out right.  I adore her sweet little voice.

- She's taken 1 or 2 steps at a time on her own but that's it.  She'll stand on her own for a good long time & you can tell she's thinking about it.  But she knows she can get around faster by crawling.  Why mess with a good thing?  So for now her walking is holding onto something or while pushing her ride-along car.

- She loves her babydoll!  It is so precious to watch her hug & pat her baby & just say "baby" over & over again.  And, no, she is not singing Justin Beiber's song.

- Her sleep habits are still inconsistent.  They change from week to week.  Currently she's waking up at least once each night & never at the same time each night.  I can usually just give her the pacifier, lay her back down (if she's sitting up) & she's fine. 

- She's 100% weaned as of last week.  This was very sad for me & I worried how she would adjust to the change.  She actually did much better than I expected.

- Still a good eater.  This morning she had pancakes (her favorite) & just devoured them. 

- I've been working with her on being able to identify parts of her body.  Currently she can show me her teeth, head, belly, & feet.  Yeah, very random.

Some days I can see a toddler.  But I'm thankful for the times when she shows me that she's still a baby. 

Date Night

Last week Jeremy calls me from work telling me to schedule my much-needed haircut (my words, not his) & get whatever I want done.  Highlights, coloring, whatever I want.  I had been needing to find a new stylist anyway & this gave me the push.  He then said that over the weekend we'd go shopping for a new dress for me.  And then we'd go out to dinner Saturday night to a place unknown to me.

I was really excited!  I love surprises like this!  There wasn't anything in particular we were celebrating.  Jeremy just wanted to do something special.

So I got my hair cut on Friday & then Saturday we went shopping.  The very first dress I picked up ended up being my favorite.  It was a perfect fit & just made me feel good.  Despite all the miles I've run & being slightly under my pre-pregnant weight I still have tummy issues.  Stretched skin I guess.  Anyway, it's always nice to find something that looks good on you.

We actually decided to go out to dinner on Monday night.  Jeremy said there was a special going on for Monday night & he wasn't going to be working anyway (President's Day is a bank holiday).  Which night didn't matter to me.

I didn't get my hair colored while getting it cut since I'm cheap.  So I found a boxed one to try.  I've been trying to find the perfect auburn color (this is for a later post).  So I did that yesterday.

Anyway, we got dressed up & dropped off Shaylin at my in-laws'.  During the drive I was trying to figure out where we were heading.  Finally we made it to our restaurant, a seafood place called Trulucks.  We've seen it before & wanted to try it but knew it was one of those "special occasion" kind of places.  Granted, there were definitely people there who probably eat at places like that all the time.  You know because we're dressed really nice & they're in jeans & flip flops.

The food was great!  We shared a crab cake for an appetizer that was just incredible.  Jeremy got the special he had told me about which was all you can eat crab legs.  I decided not to get it just to try something different.

After dinner we walked in Barnes 'n Noble & looked around for a bit, then walked next door to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert.  Wow!  So good!

It was a fun night.  We try to have some kind of date night once a month if we can.  Not always as "fancy" as this one but at least just to get out & spend time alone.  I think it's important in a marriage & especially when babies come along.  I'm so thankful that we have family here who can watch Shaylin for us.

Delusions of Grandeur?

I don't have any set plans when it comes to running here on out.  It's no secret that I want more babies.  I want that more than I want more marathon medals.  So since I'll be back on a running hiatus when I'm pregnant again, I see no point in making any big plans.

But I do have a plan, crazy though it may be, in my back pocket  . . . just in case.

I've been trying to increase my pace.  Right now I can comfortably run just under an 11 minute pace, sometimes close to 10:30.  I want to still run a 5k under 30 minutes, which means my pace has to average 9:39.  If I stay diligent, I could get there in a couple months.

To qualify for the Boston marathon I'd have to finish a marathon in 3 hours & 40 minutes.  That would have me averaging a 8:23 pace. 

I'd love to run the same marathon I last did, which is every October.  This marathon is also a Boston qualifier.  Training would begin about mid-June.  That gives me 4 months to increase my pace by over 2 minutes per mile. 

If I'm not pregnant by June I will likely start training.  I may as well continue with what I'm doing & not surround my life around the possibility of pregnancy.  I used to do that & it was just a stressful way to live.

So through the summer I would train for the marathon.  In October I would run it & meet my goal & qualify for Boston.  But then I still want another baby so Lord willing I would get pregnant soon after.  That would mean I wouldn't run Boston in 2012.  But that's ok.  You know why?  Because when you qualify for Boston it's good for 18 months!  So I could get pregnant soon after, have the baby, start training at 6 weeks post-partum & run Boston in 2013.  My pace wouldn't matter by then since I've already qualified so whatever I do post-partum would be fine.

It's probably a crazy idea.  This is the kind of stuff I think about when I'm having a really good run.  It makes me feel like I can do anything.  But I can't completely count it out.  It was during a really good run that I decided I could even run a marathon.

Baby's Best Friend

Newlywed Game

My friend The Blessed Mom post this on her blog & I thought it was too fun to pass up.  Below are Jeremy's answers to questions about me & then my answers to the same questions about myself.  Overall, he did pretty good.

1. She’s sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
Jeremy: Say Yes to the Dress, The Office, House Hunters, Beverly Hills 90210
Me: These are probably correct answers when we have cable.  We currently don't (saving money) so when the tv is on & if it's not a dvd or Baby Einstein for Shaylin, then it's either the news, Price is Right, or Wheel of Fortune.

2. You’re out to eat, what kind of dressing does she get on her salad?
Jeremy: She doesn't.  She orders a caesar.
Me: He's right!

3. What’s one food she doesn’t like?
Jeremy: applesauce
Me: Yep!  It used to gag me as a kid.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink, what does she order?
Jeremy: Coke
Me: This is probably looking for something alcoholic but I don't drink.  Usually I just order water, unless they have sweet tea.  Every once in a while I'll get a coke if I'm in the mood.

5. What shirt size does she have?
Jeremy: small
Me: Yeah, mostly smalls but there are some mediums in my closets now because, well, things change after you have a baby.

6. What shoe size does she have?
Jeremy: 6 1/2 but need 7 for some shoes
Me: I was a 6 before pregnancy but now I'm needing a 6 1/2.  But in other shoes like my running shoes I need a 7.

7. What’s her favorite type of sandwich?
Jeremy: turkey bacon ranch
Me: This is a combo I like & a sandwich I've been known to order at Subway.  But I would have gone with a french dip.  Love those!

8. What would she eat everyday if she could?
Jeremy: burritos from Chipotle
Me: This is cute since he knows how much I love Chipotle (I once ate there 3 days in a row!).  But I would actually get tired of it.  What I could eat everyday is ice cream, particularly Cinnabun by Ben & Jerry's.

9. What is her favorite cereal?
Jeremy: Cocoa Pepples
Me: He actually corrected me on this one.  I was going to say Cinnamon Life till he said Cocoa Pepples & I realized that really is my favorite.  I mean, how awesome is it that when you're finished you get to drink chocolate milk?!

10. What would she never wear?
Jeremy: mid-driff
Me: This was hard.  True, I don't want to wear a mid-driff, especially with a post-pregnancy belly.  Other than that, I'd say pants or shorts with writing on the butt.  It's just tacky, folks!

11. What is her favorite sports team?
Jeremy: Texas Rangers
Me: I'm not exactly into sports but I do like our Rangers.

12. What is something she does that you wish she wouldn’t do?
Jeremy: make instant chocolate cake in a mug
Me: I don't know why but it bothers him when I make this.  Probably because I still complain about my post-pregnancy belly & yet make this from time to time.  He had a hard time coming up with an answer.  Good to know I don't annoy him.

13. What is her heritage?
Jeremy: some Cherokee & Scottish
Me: True, along with some German, English, & a little Irish

14. You bake her a cake, what kind of cake?
Jeremy: chocolate
Me: There is a really good chocolate cake recipe we've found off the cocoa powder container that we've done for my birthday once.

15. Did she play sports in high school?
Jeremy: Yes, volleyball but you don't feel like you did but were just on the team
Me: I think he's heard me answer this question before.

16. What could she spend hours doing?
Jeremy: playing Desktop Tower Defense or back-to-back episodes of her favorite tv shows
Me. Not really true of the first one but probably true of the second one.

17. What is the unique talent that she has?
Jeremy: making me laugh?, crocheting, playing the piano, singing (all of which I can do but I'm not great at)Me: Another tough one.  I guess I'm kind of a "Jill of all trades but master of none".  I do like it when I can make him laugh though.

18. What is her type of coffee?
Jeremy: Starbuck's Gingerbread latte
Me:  Depends on the time of year.  In the winter I want something hot like a latte.  But in the summer I want the cold ones like frappichinos.

Copy & paste this & fill in your own answers with your hubby!