My Kid Eats Anything... Finger Food or Not

As I've mentioned time and again, William eats just about anything. He is incredibly easy and, yes, I am very thankful. (I know this can change at any moment.) So, since I have an easy eater, I tend to keep it simple and throw together things we have in the house.

Top 100 Finger Foods by Annabel Karmel is a very pretty book, but tough for people like me... I don't have to hide vegetables in muffins. I can throw anything on my kid's high chair tray. But, here's the biggest reason it was tough: I don't have the time, kitchen utensils, or the oven features that some of these recipes demanded.

When we bought this old house we knew that the state-of-the-art Magic Chef oven was missing its broiler feature and the stove top was missing the use of the back two burners. We'll replace it, we thought. A year and a half later and we're still short a broiler and two burners. It's not that big of a deal, except when you're trying to make your kid some kid-specific treats.

The recipes in this book were more complicated than I would have liked and demanded more ingredients than I would consider simple. There were also a lot of calls for skewers, which I don't think I trust William to deal with right now and didn't feel like pulling meat off of, so skipped. And when I flipped through to find the easiest recipes possible, two of them demanded the use of a broiler. (I rolled with it and just turned my oven up really high.) None of that works for a full-time working mom.

The highlight of our recipe book testing were curry chicken tenders that we all loved. (Seriously, they were AWESOME and I will absolutely make them again for all of us.) The low point was the corn and cheese muffin situation. Maybe it was because I made them in a large muffin tin, rather than a small tin... Which leads me to another item I didn't have: Small bite-size muffin tin.

So, when I stock up out kitchen, get a new oven, and somehow find more time, I'm ready to give some more recipes a whirl... However, I'll triple the recipes to make enough for the whole family. I'm not going to that much trouble to feed one little person. And the food all looks like it would satisfy the pickiest of our eaters (me) and the easiest palates in our household (Matt).

This post was inspired by Top 100 Finger Foods by Annabel Karmel, which I received complimentary as a part of Chicago Moms Blog (Silicon Valley Moms Group) Book Club.

Self Confessed Baby Food Making Lover

I made all of William's baby food and I LOVED it. I really did. Most people would assume that this process would annoy me, but I really took joy in making the little guy's fruit and vegetable purees. I often hear from other moms that they would like to make their baby's food, but it kind of sounds like a pain. But, trust me, it's not. Here are my tips on making it work for you.

1. Buy or request a baby food maker, such as my trusty Beaba. The investment will be worth it, trust me. Especially when you recieve it as a gift from your awesome mother-in-law.

2. Choose a few days a week that you will spend on baby food making. If you make a few items a few times a week, you always have plenty of options in the freezer. If I knew that certain days meant making baby food, then I planned for it.

3. Get to know your vegetable and fruit options. The produce section becomes so much more fun when you're searching for a new option for those new little taste buds!

4. Go frozen when you're tight on time. It took me a while to realize that grabbing a bag of frozen produce was often less expensive and more nutritious than the fresh stuff. And, man, the time saved on chopping and clean up practically paid for itself.

5. Invest in some nice, user-friendly ice cube trays. The best way to freeze the food, but they can be tough to pop out. I spent a lot of time slamming trays against the counter while cursing... But, hey, all in the name of homemade organic baby food, right?

6. Be adventurous and mis it up. I recall a ground chicken/blueberry/asparagus concoction that seemed to go over rather well...

7. Consult a book for guidance when you're looking for ideas. I found it to be helpful when I knew he was ready for more, but just needed an idea. (I did not own or use the book pictured above.)

To this day, I have an extraordinarily laid back eater on our hands. I can't say it's simple because of his early homemade baby food, but maybe it is...

This post was inspired by Top 100 Baby Food Purees by Annabel Karmel, which I received free as part of the Chicago Moms Blog (Silicon Valley Moms Group) book club.

Yes, New Mom, Your Friendships Will Still Matter... Even When They Change

Most of my friends don't have kids. This was a scary realization one night in my early mom days when I knew that a group of my friends was out living the good life and I was up all night nursing a fussy guy while living with my parents in the suburbs. (Don't you feel bad for me?) Yes, it could have been worse. But, with all the hormones and new mom anxieties, that was a little rock bottom moment for me... What have I done?

As my mom puts it I've always been "very social." And I am incredibly lucky to have some really good friends. Although I don't get to spend much time with them anymore or make last minute, fly by the seat of my pants plans these days, it doesn't mean that being a mom has forced some of these friendship to go astray.

So, when I talk to new moms or pregnant ladies who will be new moms, I tend to warn them about the transition of friendships. I also wrote a post about it on Chicago Moms Blog.

But, trust me, your friends will surprise you -- Mine have. Just thought I'd share some fun friend shots from the last year.

Dr. William

I like to find the silver cloud of situations, which is not always easy. For instance, consider this example: Your child gets sick a ton and you're multiple visits to the doctor each month. Nothing good can come of that... Or can it?

Prior to William's little bout with pneumonia, he was not a fan of doctors listening to his chest, looking in his ears, etc. etc. But, check him out these days! He loves walking around the house with this stethoscope around his neck.

Watch out, Doogie Howser!